


In Unity, There Is Strength

by Clomer



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste, Married Couple, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-11 10:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 42,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28469448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clomer/pseuds/Clomer
Summary: Adrien and Marinette are married, but their struggle against Hawk Moth continues.  While they have each other, what they want more than anything is to be able to move on with their lives and not need to worry about continuing to drop everything on no notice whenever their enemy decides to send out another one of his akumas.While Ladybug takes steps to bring the fight to Hawk Moth, he ramps up the pressure, having reached a point where he no longer cares who gets hurt or what damage is done in his quest for the miraculous.---This is a direct sequel to United by 11JJ11, written and posted with her permission.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 70
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [United](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21448285) by [11JJ11](https://archiveofourown.org/users/11JJ11/pseuds/11JJ11). 



> As noted in the summary, this story is a direct sequel to [United](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21448285/) by 11JJ11. I strongly recommend you read that story first.
> 
> If you don't want to, here are the relevant details (spoiler warnings for that story):  
> Ladybug and Chat Noir decided to get married on Marinette's 18th birthday because they've realized that they can't go to University or hold a solid job when they have to keep disappearing on no notice. By getting married, they now have access to Adrien's trust fund, which they can use to live on until they defeat Hawk Moth and can then begin to lead normal lives.
> 
> They revealed their identities to each other on the morning of their wedding, and during the course of the day their identities were also accidentally revealed to Marinette's parents and Ezra, Adrien's bodyguard. Adrien's father was opposed to the wedding and disowned his son as a result. This story picks up two days after the wedding.

In Unity, There Is Strength

(Based on the story _United_ by 11JJ11, set in the universe of Miraculous Ladybug)

Written by Clomer

The following morning, Marinette was startled awake when her phone rang at about 10 in the morning. The duo had stayed up on the tower up until about 3, when they discovered a crowd had started to gather at the base of the tower despite the early hour, cameras and phones pointed at them. Feeling a bit shy, they decided they wanted some privacy, so they headed back to the bakery.

“Hello?” Marinette sleepily mumbled into her phone, only then realizing that Adrien wasn’t with her.

“Good, you’re still alive! I was worried that your Dad was gonna kill you.” Alya’s voice greeted her. “Wait, did I wake you up?

“No! … yes.” Marinette’s initial reaction of embarrassment overridden by not wanting to lie to her friend about something so trivial with all the other things she had been forced to keep secret.

“I was worried about you, girl. Your parents did not look happy when we left, and then you didn’t call me yesterday. Are you ok?”

“Yea, my parents did kinda freak out at that news, and to be honest I kinda freaked out right back at them, too. We’re past that initial shock, though, and my Dad has taken a liking to him. He’s actually letting Adrien stay here, with me.”

“Well, that news did come out of nowhere. I mean, you’re MARRIED? I get that you needed to keep your dating a secret, but wow, girl, that was a bit over the top, don’t you think?”

“We hadn’t intended it to be public yet. Our objective was to get Adrien out of his abusive home as quickly as possible, and away from that monster he called a father.”

“Aren’t there other ways you could have done that? Wait, did you say abusive?” Concern was suddenly evident in Alya’s voice”

Marinette paused, not sure if she really wanted to have this discussion, but decided to press forward. After all, she knew she could trust her friend. “Yes. He showed up at some of our dates with bruises.

“Marinette, this is serious. You should go to the police!”

“I’ve thought about it, but Adrien just wants a clean break. Besides, he says his bodyguard tried to report it on multiple occasions and nothing came of it. Gabriel Agreste is a powerful man.”

Alya paused for a moment, taking that news in. “Does he know, yet? About the marriage, I mean.”

“Yes. Adrien went over there to break the news yesterday. It didn’t go well.”

“There are lots of degrees of ‘it didn’t go well.’ How bad is it?”

“Adrien’s not allowed back on the property, and he’s been completely cut off. In short, he got disowned.”

“Ouch. Well, I’m glad he has you. He didn’t deserve that.”

“On that, I agree. And, frankly, I’m glad I have him, and that he’s free of his father’s control.”

“How’s he doing? I mean, it can’t be easy being cut off from your family.”

Marinette paused before answering, remembering how shaken Adrien had been the day before when she found him wandering the streets with Ezra. “He took it pretty hard. He just cried into my shoulder for a good hour. He was in better spirits by the time we went to bed last night, though. I think he’s coming to realize he has a new family, now.”

“Marinette,” Alya said, after another pause, this time with a serious tone. “How are you feeling, really? I know your motives for getting married are noble, but are you _really_ sure this is what you want? I mean, marriage is a pretty significant thing. I’d hate for you to realize in a few years that you rushed into it just to get him out of a bad home only to realize that you aren’t happy.”

“Alya,” Marinette was a tad exasperated. “I wouldn’t have said yes unless I was sure. When he first proposed, it took me two weeks to give him a response, because I wanted to be sure, and he made it clear that he wanted me to be sure. I’ve known for a while that I was going to marry him, it’s just that his home situation, and some other factors, moved the timeline up a bit.”

“Well then I’m definitely happy for you.” Alya stopped, thinking. “Other factors? Marinette, you’re not pregnant, are you?”

“WHY does everyone keep thinking that? My Dad said the same thing!”

“Sorry! I was just trying to wrap my brain around these ‘other factors!’ So, what _do_ you mean by that?

Marinette took a second to respond. She could see why people would keep thinking she was pregnant, what with the secrets and the apparent suddenness of her wedding. She wished she didn’t have to keep these secrets from her best friend, but it still wasn’t safe for her to know.

“It’s a private matter, one that I’d rather not discuss. Maybe someday I’ll tell you, but not today.” Marinette was a little surprised to hear herself say that. 48 hours earlier, she would have flat out said not ever, but in that time frame her secret identity went from being hers alone to four other people knowing. What shocked her the most was that she was okay with that. The true ramifications of their identities being out there weren’t yet clear, but she had the feeling that as long as it didn’t become broadly known it would be beneficial. She knew in that moment that she would eventually tell Alya, but had to make sure the time was right.

After a moment, Alya responded “I’ll respect your privacy, but you _know_ this is going to bug me until I know.”

Marinette giggled softly at Alya’s unintentional, unknowing _bug_ pun. “I know, and I’m sorry. But this is important to me.”

“I get it. Well, really I don’t, but … Gah, you know what I mean!”

Marinette’s giggle turned into an outright laugh. “Yes, I understand.” Then, in a more serious tone, “Just please don’t pressure me on it.

“I promise.” Then, changing the subject, “Listen, Nino feels really bad about how he blurted out about the marriage thing. He knows that he messed up your plans for how you were going to break the news.”

“Well, that’s true. That definitely wasn’t how we planned on telling everyone. I’m not happy about how he forced our hand, but I don’t blame him. He was genuinely curious and wanted to know what was going on.”

“I’ll pass along that message. Now let me ask you this – do you want the news of your marriage to stay on the down low, or is it OK for me to tell everyone? So far, I haven’t said anything to anyone because I don’t feel it’s my place, not to mention that this is a scoop that the media would love to get their hands on. Nino is also sworn to secrecy until you say otherwise, by the way.”

Marinette considered for a moment before responding. “Keep it on the down low for now. I haven’t had the chance to talk to Adrien about how we want the news to go from here, and this needs to be a mutual decision. I imagine that we’ll be making a public announcement soon, as there’s no way we’ll be able to keep it quiet forever. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are already rumors.”

“It won’t leak from me, I promise. Well, I gotta go. I need to sort through all those pictures that were taken of Ladybug and Chat Noir last night that were submitted to the Ladyblog. Apparently, they were up on top of the Eiffel Tower until like 3 in the morning just resting in each other’s arms. It’s awesome how close those two have obviously become!”

 _You have no idea_ , Marinette thought as she blushed, glad that this was just a voice call so Alya couldn’t see it. “Thanks for calling, Alya. I gotta go check on Adrien, probably downstairs bonding with his in-laws, telling each other embarrassing stories about me.”

“If that’s true, it means they love you, Marinette. Don’t lose sight of that.”

“Thanks, Alya. Talk to you later!”

* * *

Adrien was, in fact, downstairs with his in-laws. He was covered from head to toe in flour, wearing a baker’s apron, with Tom showing him the ropes of a baker’s life. He looked up with a big smile when he saw Marinette come into the kitchen.

“My Lady!” He exclaimed, setting down the big bowl of pastry dough he was stirring and rushing to his wife’s arms.

“Chaton!” was all she could say before their lips met and arms wrapped around each other.

Tom smiled as he saw his daughter and son-in-law embrace. Glancing over at Sabine, he said, “Were we ever like that when we were newlywed?” Sabine just giggled in response.

Just then, all 4 of them jumped as their phones simultaneously sounded with an Akuma alert.

“Never fails.” Adrien muttered as he broke the kiss and pulled out his phone, Marinette doing the same.

“Mr. Pigeon. Again.” Marinette said in an exasperated tone as she glanced at her phone. “What does Hawk Moth see in that man? It’s not like he’s ever going to succeed.”

“Sorry M. Dupain,” Adrien said, looking over at Tom. “We’ll have to pick this up after we flock on over to Pigeon man.”

“You can call me Tom,” he responded, for the umpteenth time as Marinette and Adrien ran out of the kitchen.

* * *

Mr. Pigeon was marshalling his flock from the Trocadero, exactly where he was the first time he was ever akumatized all those years ago. A large crowd had gathered around him, growing by the minute. Ladybug and Chat Noir sat in the distance, still out of sight, observing before striking.

“Yes, my pretties! We will set a trap for that nasty Cat and Bug and take their miraculouses! Then Hawk Moth will grant us all the power we need. No one will ever mistreat you ever again! Broo Brooooo!”

“He hasn’t changed, has he,” Ladybug observed.

“No, and I don’t think he ever will.”

“What, no puns, this time?”

“I’ll always have puns for my _purr_ fect Lady!”

“Well, I think we both know what to do.” She was about to call for her Lucky Charm when she noticed Alya and Nino off to the side among the crowd, her phone pointed at the akuma. “Looks like Alya’s here, filming for the Ladyblog.”

“Along with about half of Paris. I think people have realized that Mr. Pigeon is not really dangerous, and when he appears it gives them a chance to see us in action.”

“Well, let’s give them a good show. Lucky charm.” Ladybug lacked her normal enthusiasm when calling upon her power, just wanting to get this over with. As was typical for Mr Pigeon fights, she wound up with a large bag of popcorn. It was around the fourth or fifth time they faced him that it just started giving them exactly what they needed rather than providing a means to acquire it, almost like the Miraculous itself was tiring of this particular villain.

Ladybug and Chat Noir nodded to each other, and then she chucked the bag into the air directly above Mr. Pigeon, and then in one smooth motion, flung her yoyo at it. As the two objects connected, the bag burst, sending popcorn raining down on the akuma and his flock, resulting in a gasp from the onlookers as the heroes jumped out of their hiding places running toward their adversary. Taking full advantage of the chaos of the birds scrambling for some food, Ladybug slid under Mr. Pigeon’s legs, tangling him up in her yoyo string.

“Cataclysm!” Chat noir cried out as he touched the bird whistle, releasing the akuma within.

The crowd erupted in cheers as Ladybug went through the ritual of capturing the akuma and summoning the Miraculous Ladybugs, though the latter didn’t really do much as Mr. Pigeon hadn’t had time to really do any damage.

“Ok, people!” Ladybug shouted to the crowd. “Let’s give Mr. Ramiez some space.”

Mr. Ramiez looked around disoriented at first, then a look of sadness and embarrassment crossed his face. “Oh no, not again!”

Chat Noir patted him on the back. “We’ll come as many times as we need to.”

Alya came running up to the trio, phone still in hand filming. “Ladybug, Chat Noir, that was awesome! A new record, I think. I’ll have to check the footage to be sure, but I’m pretty sure it was less than ten seconds from when you engaged the akuma to when you captured it!

“Ten seconds …” Chat commented before sneezing. “I guess we’re going for a purrfect speed with him.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “Yea, well that just means we can get back to what we were doing all the faster.” Turning to Mr. Ramiez, she added, “You good?”

The man sighed. “Yea, I’m okay. Thanks for saving me again.”

Ladybug nodded before flinging her yoyo off into the distance. “Bug out!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my debut fanfic. As of this posting, I have 7 completed chapters with chapter 8 mostly finished. I don't know exactly how long it will go, but I do have a plan and am currently estimating approximately 15 chapters (give or take) to bring the story to its conclusion. I admit to being a little nervous, and worry that this first chapter is a little weak (I promise it gets better), but I hope you guys enjoy it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Later that afternoon, Marinette was sitting at her desk, fiddling with her sewing machine, working on a costume for Kitty Section. They had commissioned her to create new attire for an upcoming concert series, and she had gotten a bit behind schedule with it while she completed the dress she got married in. Adrien was behind her, fiddling with his outfit as he prepared to head out for a photo shoot – the first of seven that he needed to do to complete the contract he was under for Gabriel Fashions.

“I wish I didn’t have to do this,” Adrien lamented.

“Why do you?”

“My father made it clear, through Nathalie, that he expected me to fulfill the existing contract and that if I didn’t he would bring legal action against me.”

Marinette scrunched up her nose. “Would he actually have a case?”

“I don’t know,” Adrien admitted. “Probably not. But going to court would still be a headache that I don’t want to have to deal with. Plus, I was promised I would be paid my normal rate, so I might as well go.”

Just then, Marinette’s phone buzzed with an incoming message. Glancing down at it, she saw it was from Alya.

**Ladyblogger: This … this isn’t good. Have you seen this, yet?**

The message included a link to a press release. Frowning, Marinette tapped the link to bring it up on her phone. Her frown quickly turned to a scowl as she read the contents. Tikki immediately sensed the change in her mood and floated over to see what was on the screen.

“What’s wrong?” Adrien asked, concern evident in his voice.

“That monster!” Marinette shrieked. “ _Gabriel_ has seen fit to send out a press release condemning _my_ work! By name! He’s trying to _ruin_ my career before it’s really even started!”

Adrien, though feeling frustrated himself, knew that these negative emotions were precisely what Hawk Moth would target, so he took a deep breath and then began gently rubbing his wife on the back. “Shhh, it’s okay. We knew this was a possibility. We’ll get through it.”

The physical affection had the desired effect, and Marinette immediately calmed down. “You’re right. You and me against the world, as always.” Tikki floated over, nuzzling up to Marinette’s cheek, giving her own comfort, while Plagg simply watched from the distance. Marinette swiped back to the message app to reply to Alya.

**Designergirl: No, I hadn’t seen that yet. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I’ll figure it out.**

**Ladyblogger: I’m so sorry Mari. I can’t believe anyone would do something like that to their daughter-in-law. Let me know if I can do anything to help.**

**Designergirl: Thanks, Alya.**

Marinette was frustrated, but knew that she would have to keep a level head if she was to get through this with any hope of having a future in design. Adrien watched her as her expression took one that he knew well, and had seen on Ladybug many times before as she figured out how to defeat the akuma of the day.

“We need to go public with our marriage,” she finally said. “That will give context to why _Gabriel_ ” she spat the name, “is suddenly so opposed to me despite lauding me before. With a little luck, we might be able to salvage my career before it’s destroyed.”

“You’ve always been better at PR stuff and the press than I am,” Adrien responded. “I mean, I’ve had my share of run-ins with the press as Adrien, but how I handle it pales to how you’ve always handled the press as Ladybug.”

Marinette felt her cheeks warm a bit at the compliment, but didn’t let that stop her thought process. “Now, what’s the best way to get the word out?” she thought out loud. After a moment, she continued, “I think we need to hold a press conference of our own.”

“Previously, if I needed to make a statement to the press, I could have reached out to the PR and marketing folks at Gabriel,” Adrien said. “Unfortunately, that’s not really an option any more.”

“I know who can help us,” Marinette said, swiping through the contacts in her phone. “There she is.” She paused before calling. “Are you ready for this? Going public with our marriage, I mean.”

“Marinette, I’ve hated that we’ve needed to keep it secret, even as I’ve known and agreed with the reasons why. I _want_ to go public with it. I want the world to know about this wonderful woman who agreed to be my wife.”

Marinette’s face turned red, and she shyly glanced down before looking back at her husband. “It’s settled, then.” She tapped the name on her phone.

“Nadja Chamack, how can I help you?”

“Hey, Nadja, it’s Marinette.”

“Marinette! I haven’t heard from you in a while. How are things going?”

“Overall, not too bad. Lots of good has happened recently, but also some bad.”

“So, what can I do for you?”

“I … uh … kinda need a favor.”

There was a pause on the line before Nadja responded. “Does this have to do with that press release that Gabriel Fashions put out about you this morning?”

“You … saw that?” Marinette asked, sheepishly.

“Reading press releases from big names is a huge part of my job, Marinette. Yes, I saw that. And for the record, I strongly disagree with them, as I think your designs are fantastic, but I honestly don’t know how I can help.”

“I would like to hold a press conference. Can you help me arrange that?”

“Marinette, I want to help you, but if you’re just trying to respond to that Gabriel Fashions press release, I doubt I could get that past the producers. You’re likely better off just responding on your social media.”

“I … um … actually have a good scoop for you. Related to that press release, but touching on a lot more.”

“I’m listening,” Nadja was suddenly very interested.

Marinette paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “Nadja, I know how reporters think, and when I tell you my scoop you’re going to want to take it and run with it. I need you to promise that you won’t go public with it until we’ve had the chance to tell the public that we need to tell.”

“Now you’ve definitely piqued my interest. Marinette, what you’re asking for here is called a media blackout, where someone wants to make arrangements with journalists to reveal pertinent information, but still control the how and when it gets out. It’s actually really common; your friend Alya could probably tell you about it. I give you my word.”

Satisfied, Marinette took another deep breath, knowing that she was committed to going public once her next words came out. Adrien took her hand in his in a show of solidarity. “I, or rather we, need to announce that I got married to Adrien Agreste two days ago in a small, secret ceremony. His father doesn’t approve of the union, and has decided to try to ruin me in retribution. We want to get this information out there so that people understand where this sudden condemnation is coming from.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for several seconds. Long enough for Marinette to start catastrophizing in her mind that she had just made a huge mistake.

“Nadja, are you there?” Marinette tentatively asked.

“Yes, I … uh … wow, you weren’t kidding when you said you had a good scoop,” Nadja was obviously surprised at this news. “I think this is big enough that the producers will want it. When do you want to hold the conference?”

“As soon as possible. Tonight, if it can be arranged.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Give me a few minutes to make some phone calls, and I’ll call you right back.”

“Of course. I’ll wait for your call. Just remember the, uh, what was the term? Media blackout.”

“I understand, Marinette. I understand why you want to control the release of information here. I will have to tell my bosses the scoop for them to understand why we should hold a press conference for you, but they understand the importance of a media blackout and I promise they will honor it.”

“Thanks, Nadja.”

“Oh, and Marinette… congratulations on your marriage. I always thought you and Adrien made a cute couple. Gabriel has no idea what he’s missing out on by turning you away.”

Marinette felt another blush enter her cheeks at those words. “Thanks again, Nadja. It means a lot to hear you say that.”

“To think, I remember when you were a little girl, younger than Manon is now. I hope all the best for you and your husband.”

With that, the phone call ended. Adrien came up behind Marinette, who was still seated, and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, Princess,” he finally said.

“What for?” she asked honestly as she turned around to face him.

“For the trouble my … Father is putting you through. I really don’t want to see you have to give up your dreams because of him.”

“I don’t think it will come to that. But even if it does … it’s worth it to be with you.” Marinette looked her husband in the eyes, her face full of sincerity, her eyes full of love.

“If we hadn’t gotten together, you wouldn’t have had to worry about some jerk of a powerful man singling you out to ruin you-“

“Stop right there, Kitty.” Marinette interrupted, placing a finger on his lips. “My dream is to be with you. We are partners. We can and will face whatever life throws at us. Together. Yes, I hope to be a successful designer, but that is secondary. You are what I truly want.”

With that, Adrien looked lovingly into his wife’s eyes, falling even more deeply in love with the amazing woman before him. He leaned in, bringing his lips to hers in a kiss that started gently, but quickly became more and more passionate.

“Blech, more mushy stuff” came Plagg’s voice from a shelf somewhere to the side.

“Plagg!” Tikki responded. “If it disgusts you so much, you should just go somewhere else. Don’t interrupt, it’s important for them to show affection to each other!”

“Yea, Plagg,” Adrien finally piped in. “Ladybug and I are married now, so you’re gonna have to get used to it.”

“Whatever.” Plagg then phased through the ceiling to hang out on the balcony.

“Sorry,” Adrien said, shaking his head.

“Is he always like that?” Marinette asked.

“Yea,” Adrien sighed. “He puts on a stern front, but he’s really a softie at heart. I honestly don’t know if he’s actually disgusted by our show of affection, or if he just feigns it to put on a show.”

“I’m not sure if even he knows,” Tikki added. “It’s been a long time since the ladybug and black cat were married. I think he’s still getting used to the idea of sharing his kitten.”

“And how do you feel, Tikki?” Adrien asked.

“I think it’s the most wonderful thing ever,” Tikki answered, beaming. “I am soooo happy for you two. You have the potential to be the best miraculous partnership in centuries, possibly ever! I’m so excited to be able to witness it up close!”

The sweet moment was then interrupted by Marinette’s ringing phone. A simple glance at the screen told Marinette that it was the call they were expecting.

“Hello Nadja. What’s the word?” Marinette answered.

“How does tonight at 8 PM in the studio sound?” Nadja’s chipper voice came through on speakerphone.

Marinette glanced at Adrien, who nodded his head. “That sounds good to us. So, the producers thought it was a sufficiently juicy scoop?”

“They were absolutely ecstatic when I told them what was up. They said it’s the biggest story we’ve had all month, and that about the only thing that could overshadow it is if, and I quote, ‘Ladybug and Chat Noir announced they were married.’”

Marinette and Adrien both snorted out a giggle at those words.

“If only,” Marinette said, trying to contain her giggling, “you had such a juicy story to tell.”

* * *

Adrien’s photoshoot went well, or at least as well as it could given that his heart wasn’t really in it. He did his best, but his thoughts and heart were in the distance, with his wife. He was grateful when the photographer announced they were done, sending him home.

They were now in the studio, with the press conference about to start. The normal interview chairs were replaced with a podium and a row of seats behind. Seated in that row were Adrien and Marinette, with Nadja at the podium. In the audience were Marinette’s parents, Alya and Nino, and a number of other reporters from various TV channels, papers, and blogs. Marinette had asked about making sure Alya could get in, but it turned out she didn’t need to: Alya had established herself as a journalist sufficiently that she was able to get in on her own credentials.

“We’re live in 10,” an assistant said.

“You ready for this, Princess?” Adrien whispered.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“You and me against the world, M’lady.”

With that, the room went live.

“Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news! Nadja Chamack here. Thank you everyone for tuning in to this special event news conference. It is being held at the request of M. Adrien Agreste, local teen model and fashion icon, who has an announcement he wishes to make. Without further delay, I’ll turn the podium over to him.”

Nadja gestured to Adrien, who took his place at the podium while she took her seat.

“Thank you, Nadja. Thank you all for coming. I’m going to get straight to the point. I’m here to announce my marriage to my girlfriend of 3 years, Mme. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” There was an audible gasp from the audience. “If this news seems sudden, it’s probably because we have kept our relationship status a secret. We were married two days ago, though we had been planning it for months. It is not something we entered lightly.”

Adrien gestured to Marinette, who stood up and came to his side at the podium. He then continued. “My father does not approve of this union.” Marinette took his hand in hers as he pressed forward in what was the most difficult part of the announcement. He took a deep breath before continuing. “In fact, he strongly opposes it, to the point that he no longer considers me to be his son.” An even louder gasp came from the audience this time. “To this end, I have chosen to take my wife’s last name rather than have her take mine. While this press conference was advertised under my previous name, that was only done because that is how I have been known publicly until now. From this moment on, I shall be known as Adrien Dupain-Cheng.”

With that, there was a burst of chatter in the audience as people started clamoring over each other to try to get a word in edgewise. Nadja was immediately on her feet, speaking into the microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down. There will be a question and answer session after M. and Mme. Agr … Dupain-Cheng’s remarks.” She glanced down at her bracelet, which showed that the ratings for this conference were shooting upwards.

The crowd calmed down, allowing Adrien to continue. “Thank you, Nadja.” Glancing out over the audience, who were now intently paying attention rather than just casually listening, he continued. “Some of you may recognize my wife as being the young designer that was recently targeted by my father, where he publicly made some negative remarks about her work. Those remarks are why we chose to hold this press conference, so that the context of where those comments came from could be made available. I’ll let her take over from here.”

Marinette took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking, channeling some of her inner Ladybug confidence, hoping that she could maintain composure and not revert to her normal stuttering, bumbling self. “Some people may think that I married Adrien for the fame or the connections into the fashion industry. I want to assure you that this is not the case. If anything, with the actions of my father-in-law, this marriage may prove to be more harmful than helpful in terms of furthering my career. This, however, does not change that we are married. We want to be married, and we will continue being married. Adrien is the sweetest, most caring, genuine person I know, and I am humbled and grateful that he has chosen me to be his wife."

There were some _ahhhs_ from the audience, earning a slight blush on Marinette before she continued. “My professional plan is to continue doing my best work with every commission and project, and let that work speak for itself. It’s okay if you don’t like it, but I ask that you make that judgement for yourself rather than just follow the words of a slighted father whose son showed some independent initiative for his own life. Gabriel Agreste is a talented designer whom I have long looked up to, and I find it unfortunate that he has chosen to ostracize his only remaining family.”

“We will now open up the floor to questions,” Adrien said. With that, several members of the audience raised their hands to ask their question. Adrien decided to start with a friendly face and called on Alya.

“How did you two meet?” she asked. Though she knew the answer (for she was there), she thought it would be fun to hear them tell the story.

“We met in school, back when we were thirteen,” Adrien answered. “We were in the same class together. At first we were simply good friends, who hung out together with our other friends, though a bit over 3 years ago we started formally dating.”

“I actually didn’t like him at first,” Marinette added, knowing this is what Alya wanted to hear when she asked the question. “When he first entered the class, my first impression was that he was a rich stuck up kid who looked down at anyone not part of his socio-economic class. I quickly learned that first impression was a result of a misunderstanding, and I came to appreciate him for who he really is. It took me a while to gather the courage to let him know how I really felt about him, and when I finally did things just fell into place, leading to where we are now. Next question?”

Marinette called on a gentleman on the front row.

“This question is for Adrien. Are you planning on doing any more modeling, for Gabriel Fashions, or anyone else?”

“I’ll be completing my existing contract with Gabriel Fashions, but after that I won’t do any more modeling for him. I’ve never wanted to make a career of modeling, though I’m not opposed to doing some freelance work. I’ll be hiring an agent that such work can be arranged through.”

“Are you planning on having any children?” A middle-aged woman asked, with a look that suggested trouble.

“Eventually,” Marinette responded carefully. “But not right away.”

“So, you’re not pregnant?” the woman went on.

Marinette’s eyes widened at the audacity of the question. “No! This isn’t some thrown together flight of fancy to cover up … indiscretions,” Marinette said, her face turning red at the insinuation. “We love each other. We haven’t even been together … in that way. Not yet.”

“You mean to tell me you’ve been married for two days and you still haven’t had-“

“That’s enough!” Adrien’s words cut through, interrupting. “I won’t have anyone implying that my wife has done anything wrong, because she most definitely has not. We’re finished here.”

With that, Adrien led Marinette off the stage and out a side door. Nadja took to the podium, sending a glare at the woman that caused the commotion, who had a smirk on her face.

“Thanks again for coming, everyone,” she said to the audience, noting that Tom and Sabine were leaving their seats to follow their daughter and son-in-law. “There will be a written statement released soon. Have a good evening!”

* * *

“I can’t believe how insensitive some people can be!” Marinette yelled as soon as they were out of the studio, in the hallway, where they had some measure of privacy from the crowd in the studio.

“She’s the type of reporter that gives the honest ones a bad name,” Adrien replied. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Marinette’s expression softened as she looked at Adrien and saw the concern in his eyes. “Really. But thank you. I know you’ll always have my back.”

Just at that moment, Tom and Sabine came through the door. Tom had a look of concern that immediately melted when he saw how the couple were looking at each other.

“Thank you, son,” he said.

“For what?” Adrien asked.

“If there was ever any doubt that you would be there for my daughter, it’s gone now.”

Adrien blushed, his hand going to the back of his neck. “Thank you, sir.”

“Tom,” the older man corrected.

“Tom,” Adrien agreed. “I will never do any less when it comes to My Lady.”

“I know you won’t.”

Just then, as often happens during soft, sensitive moments, an akuma alert sounded on all four of their phones. Marinette was the first to pull up the alert on her phone, looking at the reports that were just now coming in. “We’ll meet you back at home after we take care of this,” she said to her parents.

Tom looked his daughter in the eyes, worry in his own, before pulling her in for a hug. “Be safe. I love you.”

“I love you too, Papa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how fast I'll be updating overall, but I do hope to keep what I have finished ahead of what's posted. Currently, I have completed 8 chapters, with good progress done on chapter 9.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Your comments and kudos are appreciated. :-)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ladybug and Chat Noir silently made their way across the city, their practiced movements allowing them to stay in sync with each other as they headed towards where the latest akuma was wreaking havoc on the population. It may have been in the late evening, but it was a Friday night and the weather was unseasonably warm so there were a lot of people out and about.

The victim this time was a young woman, about the age of the hero couple, who was in the park across from the bakery. The duo took position on Marinette’s balcony overlooking the park. At first, Ladybug was a little concerned about using her own space to scout out an akuma, fearing it might compromise her identity, but she pushed that thought aside because it really was the best place nearby to scout the current situation. If anyone saw them up there, they wouldn’t think twice about whose house it was, as the heroes had used similar locations all over Paris as scouting vantage points.

That said, Ladybug vaguely thought that it was somewhat odd that they seemed to wind up in this part of town so often when dealing with akumas. She hadn’t noticed it at first, as it was the area she lived and grew up in, but as the fight against Hawk Moth dragged on she was beginning to notice that this part of town did seem to be favored by the villain.

Pushing those thoughts aside for the time being, Ladybug turned her attention to the akuma. She was dressed in a pink dress with red roses embroidered throughout, wearing a necklace from a recent Gabriel Fashions jewelry line. Ladybug noted that this particular akuma was actually better dressed, with more fashion sense, than most.

“Marinette!” the woman shouted. “Come out and face me!”

Ladybug gasped, and turned to Chat Noir, whispering, “What does she want with me?”

As if on cue, the woman continued. “I am Heartcrusher! You are unworthy of Adrien, and I will make sure you never go near him again! Adrien is mine!”

“Sounds like she has a _burr_ oken heart!” Chat punned.

Ladybug’s hand went to her forehead, her head shaking. “We should have seen this coming.”

“Well, we can’t _cat_ ch them all,” Chat said, grinning. Ladybug just rolled her eyes.

“I’m guessing the akuma is in her necklace,” Ladybug said, and Chat simply nodded in agreement.

“Lucky charm!” Ladybug called upon her power, tossing her yoyo into the air. Down came … “A leash?”

“I wouldn’t mind being leashed to you, Bugaboo,” Chat said with a grin.

Ladybug groaned a little as she looked around, but nothing came to her. “I’m not seeing how to use this, yet.” She tucked it on her waist, ready to use when the need arose. It was then that she noticed the other people in the park – half of them looked like they were lovestruck for the akuma, the other half recoiling away from the person they were with as if they suddenly hated them.

“We need to be careful,” she said. “She’s got the powers of Dark Cupid, and other powers as well.” She looked at her partner. “Ready?”

Chat simply nodded. With that, they leaped down from the balcony, landing on either side of Heartcrusher, weapons at the ready.

“Adrien, Adrien,” Chat Noir taunted. “Everyone always fawns over him, but really, what does he have that I don’t?”

“You’re just a mangy alley cat!” Heartcrusher yelled, bringing her hand up. Suddenly, a glowing red ball shot out from it, which Chat just barely managed to dodge. “You’re nothing like the perfection that he is!”

Ladybug flung her yoyo at Heartcrusher in an attempt to wrap the villain up, but Heartcrusher deftly dodged to the side. “Why do you think Adrien would want to be with you?” Ladybug asked as she pulled her yoyo back.

“Adrien and I are meant to be together!” she shouted. “Or at least we were, until that wanna-be designer _Marinette_ seduced him away!”

Ladybug forced herself to ignore the taunt against her design talents, knowing it was Hawk Moth’s doing that made her channel her anger in that way. “Maybe you should think about what Adrien wants, instead of just thinking about your own crush!”

The irony of Ladybug’s advice wasn’t lost to her, as that was something she wished she could tell her younger self, but that wasn’t what she was thinking about in the moment. As she kept the akuma’s attention, she could see that Chat was creeping up on their adversary, looking very much like a cat on the prowl. _Just a few more steps,_ she thought.

“It isn’t just a crush! He is my soulmate!”

Just then, Chat made his move and pounced on Heartcrusher, reaching for the necklace. Somehow, she sensed the incoming attack and spun around. With unnatural speed and agility, she grabbed Chat’s arms and, using his own momentum against him, flung him straight at Ladybug. It happened so fast that neither had the chance to react, as his body slammed into hers, and they suddenly found themselves a good 20 meters away.

Momentarily dazed, Ladybug gasped as she saw one of those glowing red balls flying straight at them. Instinctively she pushed Chat to one side while she dove to the other, and the ball harmlessly whizzed by them. Then, she saw another ball headed right for her, but she was still on the ground and not in a position to be able to dodge. Time seemed to slow down as she mentally braced herself for the impact of whatever it was, whatever effect it would have.

“Ladybug!” Chat Noir shouted out, a hint of desperation in his voice as he threw himself in front of the incoming projectile. It hit him square on the chest, his whole body glowing red for a few seconds as he tumbled to the ground.

“Chat!” Ladybug gasped out, vaguely aware that Heartcrusher was laughing maniacally. She brought herself over to him, fearing the worst. She felt a sense of relief when he turned his head to look at her, but that was quickly replaced by dread when she saw the look in his eyes. A look that she had never seen in him before – it was a look of anger, of hatred. Even when he had been hit by Dark Cupid all those years ago, his look was simply one of indifference. This was different.

“I can’t believe I fell for you,” Chat Noir spat out. “I can’t believe I _loved_ you!”

Ladybug knew in her mind that the words weren’t his, that they were a result of the influence of the akuma’s magic. That didn’t stop them from sending figurative knives through her heart.

“Chat…” She said. _Focus, Ladybug, he doesn’t really feel that way, he needs you now more than ever,_ she told herself.

“Cataclysm!” Chat Noir shouted, then he lunged at Ladybug with his outstretched hand.

Acting purely by instinct, she grabbed his arm and spun her whole body around, bringing him to the ground with her. While she believed her transformation would protect her from the worst of it if his cataclysm actually connected, she did not want to test that theory; not to mention that even in the best case it would definitely hurt. His hand hit the ground, triggering the cataclysm, leaving a large hole. He then pushed with his legs with all his strength, sending Ladybug flying clear out of the park, landing right in front of the bakery in a heap.

Of course, Tom and Sabine had chosen that exact moment to arrive home.

“Ma … Ladybug!” Sabine shouted as she ran up to her daughter.

“Mo … a’am!” Ladybug responded, at least as surprised as her parents as she rose back to her feet. “Get inside, it’s not safe out here!”

“But…” Tom said.

“ _Please!_ ” she pleaded, a hint of desperation in her voice. She did _not_ want her parents to be caught up in the fight, and she did _not_ want them to see what had happened to her husband. “I’ve dealt with worse. I’ll be okay. Go!”

Without waiting to see if they listened or not, she flung her yoyo back towards the park, and let herself fly back towards Heartcrusher. As she sailed through the air, her heart leapt to her throat at what she saw – Chat Noir kneeling to the akuma, his left hand starting to take the ring off his right.

“No!” She flung her yoyo at Chat, wrapping it up around his right arm, yanking it away from the hand that would remove the miraculous, all the while she was still sailing through the air. As she landed, Chat hissed as he extracted his arm from her yoyo string, and then he charged.

In that instant, Ladybug knew what the lucky charm was for. This lucky charm wasn’t for winning the fight, it was for saving her partner.

In one smooth movement, she unhooked the leash from her side and brought it up to hook around his neck as he tackled her. Pulling tight on it to gain control, she was able to quickly subdue him using the leash. Recalling what happened with Dark Cupid all those years ago, hoping that it would work again, she brought her lips to his. The effect was almost immediate. Chat’s eyes changed from anger and hatred to shock, then … guilt. Ladybug knew she had him back, so she didn’t waste any time.

“Fall back! We need to regroup and recharge,” She said, then glanced over at Heartcrusher, who had the glowing butterfly mask over her face. They took advantage of the moment to leap out of the park, into a nearby alley.

* * *

 _“Please!_ I’ve dealt with worse. I’ll be okay. Go!”

Tom watched, more than a little apprehensively, as Ladybug launched herself back towards the park from whence she came.

“Come on inside, Dear,” Sabine said, gently nudging him towards the door to the bakery. “We don’t need her worrying about us. She knows what she’s doing.”

Tom let her guide him inside, even as his thoughts and worries were with his daughter, who was facing a super villain not 100 meters away. Once they reached their living area, he turned to his wife. After a few moments, he finally found the words to what he was thinking.

“I saw _fear_ in her eyes. She hides it well, and I might not have noticed it if I didn’t know who she was, but I know my daughter!”

“Oh, Tom.” Sabine reached out, wrapping her arms around her much larger husband, her eyes watering up with tears. Finally, she looked up at him. “I’m worried about her, too. But we should be _proud_ of her. Despite her fear, she charges in to do her duty, like any true hero would.”

“My grandfather,” Tom began slowly, “fought in World War 2. He helped liberate Paris from the occupation. I remember him telling me stories when I was little about his time as a soldier, but he never said anything about his experiences in combat.” His wife watched him intently as he spoke. “I could tell it was because he was haunted by what he saw and did in the war.” His grandfather was a gentle soul, never wishing harm on anyone. Tom couldn’t imagine how it must have pained him to do what he had to do in the defense of his homeland. “And now, our dear, sweet little girl is experiencing something similar. Different, yes, but similar.”

“She’s a tough girl, Tom,” Sabine said. “And she’s been doing this for a while, and always comes out on top.”

“It’s different now that I know who Ladybug is. Before, I was just impressed by what she was able to do. We’ve even helped her on occasion without knowing her identity! But knowing …” Tom trailed off.

“Makes it more real, more personal. I know,” Sabine finished for him.

“I’m worried about her.”

“I know.”

“But I _am_ proud of her.”

“So am I,” Sabine looked into Tom’s eyes. “And she is _not_ alone. Not anymore. She has us, and perhaps more importantly, she has Adrien. I have no doubt that the two of them will be able to handle whatever is thrown their way; in the costume or out.”

“Then let’s make sure they always have a welcoming, loving home to return to.”

* * *

After fleeing Heartcrusher, the duo detransformed to feed their Kwamis. As Tikki and Plagg ate their snacks in silence, Adrien knew he needed to say something, but he wasn’t sure how to start.

Marinette was the one to break the silence. “I know that look, Chaton. What’s on your mind?”

“I … I am soooo sorry for what I said and did,” he said, unable to meet her gaze. There was no way she would ever forgive him for this, how quickly he turned against her.

“Shhh…. It wasn’t you. It was the akuma’s magic.”

“I can remember it all,” he explained, still unable to meet her gaze. “It wasn’t like with Dark Cupid where there is this gap in my memory of what happened. I was fully aware. I … _hated_ you. I wanted to kill you.”

Marinette looked at him with concern in her eyes, her hand on his chin, gently bringing his face up. “Hey, it’s okay. It wasn’t you,” she repeated. “I’ve got your back just as you have mine.”

Adrien choked back a sob and just reached out and pulled her into an embrace. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” he said, still surprised at the amount of love she continued to show for him, while grateful for it at the same time.

“You were simply yourself, Kitty. It’s you that I love, and you that I will always come for. My love for you isn’t fragile.” Then, taking his shoulders into her hands, she looked him in the eyes. “I need my Chat Noir for this one – Heartcrusher is too powerful for me to take alone. Can I count on you?”

Adrien looked at the love of his life and took a moment to take in what he saw. There was concern, yes, but there was also an unconditional love. There was also trust – a level of trust that he hadn’t seen before. While the two of them had long trusted each other completely, oftentimes even putting their own lives on the line for that trust, the level he saw now was new. Revealing their identities to each other proved to strengthen their partnership beyond what he thought was possible.

He simply nodded in answer to her question. He was ready to face Heartcrusher. He was ready to face _anything_ with his Lady at his side.

“We’re ready,” Tikki said, with Plagg at her side.

Satisfied, Marinette nodded in return. “Good. Now, we know what her powers are. We have to avoid being hit again if at all possible. If either of us are, then undoing the effect is the top priority, but let’s try to avoid that if we can. She’s fast, agile, and strong – far more so than she looks. Let’s not underestimate her again.”

“Agreed,” Adrien said, and then a slight grin came to his lips. “Even though she doesn’t know it’s us, let’s show her why Adrien and Marinette are _purr_ fect for each other.”

“Tikki, spots on!” Marinette said with a wry smile.

“Plagg, claws out!”

* * *

Heartcrusher proved to be one of the most powerful and cunning adversaries they had ever faced. It took three more hours and four more Lucky Charms to finally defeat her. That, however, was not what was most notable about this particular engagement – it was how in sync Ladybug and Chat Noir were. They had always been a team, in tune with each other’s actions and movements, able to anticipate what the other would do, but it was taken to a new level with this fight. With hardly any words between them, multiple times they would communicate with simple looks and gestures, move in, attempt to get the akuma, and pull out when it failed.

Previously, they might have gone for the miracle box and recruited some extra help. In fact, just a week earlier, they probably would have done so if faced by this particular villain. This time, however, the thought never even occurred to them, as they were so in tune with each other that they knew they would come out on top.

About an hour into the fight, they noticed that Alya was present, filming the action from a hidden vantage point. Ladybug still didn’t like how Alya put herself in danger to film akuma fights, but she did appreciate that she was much better at staying out of the way than she used to be. Ladybug didn’t know exactly when Alya had arrived, though she hoped it was some time _after_ the beginning parts of the fight when Chat had taken the hit.

When Ladybug finally got her hands on the akuma-infested necklace, thanks to Chat leading Heartcrusher into a trap made out of Lucky Charm fishing wire, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize! Bye-bye, little butterfly.” Chat never grew tired of hearing his partner go through the ritual of cleansing the akuma. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

“Pound it!”

Before them was a young woman who actually was fairly attractive, disoriented from the effects of the akuma.

“Wha …. What happened?”

“Shhh, it’s okay. You were akumatized,” Ladybug told her in a soothing voice.

Realization hit the poor young woman’s face. “Oh… how embarrassing! I just heard my celebrity crush got married and I … I …”

Chat placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, nobody blames you. I think everyone has a celebrity crush at some point in their lives; it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’ll bet Adrien is flattered.”

“If you see him,” the woman said, “can you please tell him that I’m sorry and that I really do wish him well? That Marinette girl is lucky, and I wish I could be in her shoes, but I really do want them to be happy.”

Ladybug couldn’t help but smile at the request. “We’ll pass along the message.” Ladybug stifled a yawn. “Do you need help getting home?”

“No, I just live a few blocks away, and my car is right over there,” she said, pointing across the park.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” Nodding one final time she turned to head back home, finding herself face-to-face with the Ladyblogger. “Alya!”

“Ladybug! That was intense!” Then, pausing for a second, “Oh, wow, you look tired.”

“I _am_ tired. It’s been a long day. I’m going to bed.” She put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I know you filmed most of that fight, but thank you for staying out of the way.” Alya simply nodded. “Bug out!”

* * *

A few minutes later, Adrien and Marinette were in their room, both exhausted from the long day and tough akuma fight. They had entered through the skylight, not wanting to disturb her parents, but it turned out that was a mistake. Tom, knowing that they had just returned through the roof, knocked on the trap door into his daughter’s room from below.

“Yes?” Marinette said.

Tom poked his head through, concern melting away as he saw both of them there, getting ready for bed.

“Papa! Why aren’t you in bed?”

“I couldn’t sleep, knowing my little girl was out there facing danger,” he said as he climbed the rest of the way into the room.

“Dad, you can’t go worrying about me like that. You need your sleep. The bakery opens in just a few hours!”

He brought his daughter into a hug before answering. “I know. But that’s easier said than done. Now that I know who you are, it’s going to be hard on me every time you run off to face one of those akumas. Especially with the way you were tossed the length of a football field to land in a heap on concrete in front of the bakery.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes. The fear was gone, for which he was thankful. “I don’t think I can avoid worrying about you, but I don’t want you to worry about me. You have enough to worry about as it is. I just want you to know that I’m proud of you.”

Marinette smiled in response. “Thanks, Papa. I’m really glad I have your approval; it takes a weight off my shoulders. But you don’t need to worry about me. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I have my Kitty to protect me.” She glanced over at Adrien, who smiled.

“That’s right, sir,” he said, pulling her close with an arm around her waist. “Worrying about her is _my_ job.”

“Tom,” Tom corrected.

“Tom,” Adrien agreed.

Five minutes later, all three of them were fast asleep.

* * *

“I was close this time, Ladybug,” Hawk Moth monologued. “I know you are beatable. It’s only a matter of time before I find a villain that you can’t react to quickly enough.”

Even as he said it, deep down he had his doubts. He knew the moment his butterfly connected with the young woman that Heartcrusher would be a formidable foe. And she was, but not formidable enough. Ladybug and Chat Noir won again. Maybe not with ease, but without calling for reinforcements. The heroes were getting stronger and more powerful. It was prominently shown in this most recent fight; something about the way they fought tonight was different, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Then there was the way his son had suddenly abandoned him, chasing after that _girl_ who only wanted to use his fame and connections to further her own ambitions. Gabriel’s attempts to blacklist and bury her were meeting unexpected resistance, and that press conference they put on didn’t help matters. The initial reports were that the public was siding with _them_ , not him.

If it wasn’t for _Ladybug_ and how annoyingly competent she was, he would have won long ago. If only he could get his hands on their miraculous; he would finally have the power to reshape reality, and he could make things go back to the way they were.

Tomorrow would be another day. One day closer to when he would have his beloved Emilie back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tom's little monologue about his grandfather in WW2 was me being a bit self-indulgent. Other than the specifics of him "helping to liberate Paris from the occupation," I was describing my own grandfather. He did fight in multiple engagements on the European front in WW2, and it was a defining experience of his early adult life.
> 
> The line "My love for you isn't fragile" was inspired by a similar line in Disney's _Frozen 2_ , which I had just seen for the first time right before writing this chapter.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I appreciate the comments and kudos.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The following morning, as Marinette slowly started waking up, the first thing she was aware of was that she wasn’t alone in the bed. Her eyes shot open, her mind noting Adrien’s arm draped around her and there was a momentary freak out before the memories of the last few days returned to her.

“Not a dream,” she mumbled to herself, her heart suddenly full of emotion reflecting on the life-changing events she had just gone through, how lucky she was, and how grateful she was to have her partner by her side.

Just then Adrien started shifting, most likely roused by Marinette’s own movements. She turned her head to look at him just as he opened his eyes. “Good morning, Princess.”

“Good morning!” She moved her face forward the few centimeters it took to bring their lips together. She had intended for it to be a brief good-morning peck, but when neither of them moved to separate, it quickly became much more than that. Their lips moved together in a soft, sensual way, made all the more personal by the way their arms were already wrapped around each other.

They were interrupted out of their reverie when Marinette’s phone suddenly rang. She twisted around to reach for it, answering after she saw who it was. “Hey, Papa.”

“Marinette, sorry if I’m waking you up or interrupting anything, but we could use some help in the bakery. Our part-time hired help called in sick so we’re short-handed for the lunch rush.”

Marinette felt heat in her cheeks at just what was interrupted, but she didn’t let it show in her voice. “Sure, Papa. Give me a few minutes to get dressed and I’ll be right down.”

“What’s that about?” Adrien asked as Marinette hung up her phone.

“My parents need help in the bakery,” she said as she extricated herself from his arms. “The part-time help isn’t coming in today, so I’m going to fill in.”

“Aww, I was hoping to have you to myself for the day!” He said, in faux disappointment.

“It’s just for the lunch rush,” she said, winking while booping him on the nose. “After that, I’m yours.”

* * *

A few minutes later, Marinette and Adrien came down the stairs into the bakery to see a flustered Sabine manning the front counter, faced with a line that was out the door, with Tom in the back working the ovens in the kitchen.

“Oh, thank goodness, Marinette. I’m sorry to take you away from your alone time with Adrien so soon after your wedding, but it’s busier than normal and we could really use your help,” Sabine said.

There were some hushed whispers among the crowd when she said those words.

“No worries, Mom,” Marinette responded with a smile as she took her place at the front counter to help the next customer. “We’re happy to help.” The truth was that she actually did enjoy helping out her parents in the bakery from time to time. She didn’t want to make a career out of it, but it was nice to be able to help them out given how much they had done for her over the years, and especially now with the acceptance they had shown to her and Adrien. Working the front counter for a couple of hours was the least she could do. She knew that Adrien would also want to help out, too, in whatever way he could.

She turned to the next customer in line. “What can I get for you?”

The young woman did a start when she got a good look at Marinette. “You’re … you’re Marinette!”

Marinette looked at her, realizing she was vaguely familiar, but couldn’t quite place where she had seen her before. “Um … yea? Do I know you?” Marinette responded. Sabine and Adrien looked over with a bit of concern but said nothing.

“Uh… No,” they woman replied sheepishly. “I just heard that you, um, wow, this is embarrassing.” Just then, Marinette recognized her – the young woman who had been akumatized the night before. She heard a gasp from behind her as Adrien recognized her at the same moment she did. He stepped forward and took his place by Marinette’s side.

As soon as he came into the woman’s view, her face turned bright red. “Adrien! I’m … I’ve been a big fan of yours for years! I wanted to congratulate you … both of you on your wedding! And …” Adrien looked at her expectantly. “I wanted to apologize...”

When her voice trailed off, Adrien gently said “You’re the young woman who was akumatized last night? Because of me?” Marinette heard a gasp from behind from her mother.

The young woman shyly smiled “Yea…”

“Ladybug and Chat Noir,” Marinette said, “told us what you told them last night. We don’t blame you any more than they do.”

A look of relief enter her features. “Thank you. I was afraid you would hate me. I really do want you two to be happy.”

“Thanks,” Adrien said. “That means a lot.” Marinette simply nodded in agreement.

As Marinette took the woman’s order and Adrien took his place in the kitchen, and for the remainder of her shift at the front counter, she noticed that her mother kept glancing at her with a look that could only be explained as that of a proud mother.

After a couple of hours, the lunch rush finally died down. Tom and Sabine dismissed the young lovebirds, assuring them that they could handle it from there. They headed back up to Marinette’s room to decide what to do from there.

“I’ve never had such an open schedule before. I’m not sure what to do with all this time,” Adrien said.

Marinette smiled at her husband, looking forward to getting him to loosen up a bit from his regimented schedule even as she knew that the structure probably was good thing. “It’s been a while since we’ve done a daytime patrol,” she said as she smiled.

Adrien smiled, and then the smile turned into a grin that was all Chat. Marinette eyed him suspiciously as he started climbing the ladder to the skylight exit. “Race you to the Eiffel Tower.” With that, he suddenly jumped outside before Marinette had a chance to respond. “Plagg, claws out!”

“Aaah! No fair!” Marinette yelled out as leapt up the ladder after him. “Tikki, spots on!”

* * *

Despite having very different methods by which they travelled at speed as superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir were surprisingly evenly matched at how quickly they could traverse great distances. Because he started first, however, Chat was able to stay just ahead of Ladybug the entire distance to the tower. He landed on the top platform less than two seconds ahead of his partner, much to the surprise of a few tourists who were having a leisurely day enjoying the view.

“Hah! I win!” Chat boasted as he paused to catch his breath.

“Only because you had a head start, Mon Minou,” she retorted, booping his nose.

“Aww, is Bugaboo a sore loser?” he teased.

“You wish!” Ladybug tried to look at him sternly, but it only lasted a few seconds before a giggle escaped her lips. Once it started, Chat started laughing, which caused her giggles to morph into full blown belly laughs. By this time, the tourists on the tower were no longer looking out at the view, but instead were watching the superhero couple with amusement. Sometimes people would get nervous when the heroes suddenly appeared, as it often meant there was an akuma nearby, but this time it was pretty clear that there was no danger and it was just the couple being their normal, silly selves. Several of them had already taken out their phones to take pictures.

After a few moments, Ladybug was finally able to catch her breath as she became aware of the attention they were getting. It wasn’t the first time a crowd had gathered to watch their antics, though she never really got used to being the center of attention in this way. She shyly smiled and waved. “Hi, guys, don’t mind us, just passing through.” Then, she looked at Chat with a gleam in her eyes, yoyo in hand. “Race you to the Arc de Triomphe,” she said, then jumped off the platform, extending her yoyo to swing off in the direction of the famous landmark.

Smiling, Chat wasted no time jumping after her, leaving behind a cheering crowd.

For the next couple of hours or so, it was more of the same, with Ladybug and Chat Noir chasing each other around the city. Both of them were in high spirits, enjoying the freedom that their superpowers gave them, as well as having an afternoon free of any other commitments. This allowed them to simply enjoy each other’s company in a way that they rarely, if ever, had been able to do so openly.

This had an interesting side effect of lifting the spirits of the public at large, as well. Multiple sightings of the heroes were reported, with pictures included, from all over the city to the Ladyblog. There were a few comments from naysayers that they were being irresponsible and not taking their jobs seriously, but those comments were far outnumbered by the number of supporters who recognized that it was a bonding experience for the heroes. It proved that their morale was good, which meant that they would be that much more effective when it mattered.

Ladybug caught sight of Andre’s ice cream cart at the Trocadero first, pausing to point it out to her partner. “Want to get some ice cream?”

Chat considered for a moment before answering. “Yes, but not like this.”

“What do you mean?” Ladybug asked.

“Let’s find a place to detransform, and then get ice cream as our normal selves. Make it a date!”

Ladybug considered the suggestion for a moment. She could understand where he was coming from: they hadn’t spent much time together in their civilian form, and what time they had spent was usually in group outings with Alya and Nino. Their entire courtship and most of the time they had spent together thus far had been in their superhero form. With the exception of their wedding, they hadn’t even been on a proper date yet. She smiled. “It’s a date.”

Five minutes later, Marinette and Adrien were sharing an ice cream from Andre.

* * *

They spent the next several hours walking around, without any specific destination in mind. They were simply enjoying each other’s company, laughing at each other’s jokes, being silly with each other, and all around having a good time. There were multiple times when they caught sight of someone taking pictures of them from afar, but fortunately nobody actually approached them or bothered them.

Marinette was used to people pointing her out and taking pictures of her while she was Ladybug, but this was a new experience for her in her civilian form. The news of her and Adrien’s marriage was still new in the gossip news community, so the paparazzi would want their pictures. As long as they kept their distance, she didn’t mind, especially since the alternative was to hole up at home and not go out at all.

After stopping by a phone store to get Adrien a new phone (after discovering that his old phone had been cut off), they found themselves at a restaurant enjoying a simple dinner date. From there, they took a nighttime stroll along the banks of the Seine before finally finding themselves back at the entrance to the bakery. It was late enough that Tom and Sabine were already in bed, expecting to be up early the next morning like usual. Marinette and Adrien quietly made their way up to their room, not wanting to disturb the older couple.

“I’ve been thinking,” Marinette said, “that it’s past time for us to figure out how to bring the fight to Hawk Moth.”

Adrien was a little surprised, as other than playing tag around the city, they hadn’t mentioned the superhero stuff to each other all day. No previous mention of akumas or supervillains or Hawk Moth. Not sure where she was going with this, he simply raised an eyebrow.

“Up to now,” Marinette continued, “we’ve been reactive. We simply wait for Hawk Moth to akumatize someone and then we go and deal with it. The only way we’ll ever win like this is for Hawk Moth to make a mistake and show himself in a situation where we can get the upper hand. I honestly don’t see that ever happening.”

“I see what you mean,” Adrien responded. “It’s only been, what, three times that Hawk Moth has actually personally appeared. In none of those three did we come close to stopping him.”

“And all three of those times were years ago. We honestly can’t count on him personally appearing ever again.”

Adrien paused for a moment before responding. She was absolutely right – as long as things remained the way they were, then nothing significant would change. They would continue to be reactive rather than proactive in dealing with Hawk Moth. Wait for an akuma, cleanse the akuma, rinse, repeat, on and on. They _needed_ a way to bring the fight to him, but he had no idea how to do that.

His Lady was smart, though. He had no doubt she’d think of something

“I’ve been thinking,” Marinette said. “We both managed to fool the other regarding our identities. What if Hawk Moth has done the same?”

Adrien swallowed as he considered the implications of that question. Over the years they had a few suspects as to Hawk Moth’s identity, beginning with his own father, but each and every one of them was crossed off the list for one reason or another.

“If that’s so, then we’re basically back to square one,” he said. “Any of our past suspects should be re-evaluated.”

“Including,” Marinette paused, looking closely at Adrien, considering her next words carefully, “your father.”

“But he was akumatized. Setting aside for the moment the absurdity that Hawk Moth would akumatize himself, do we even know if that’s possible?

“I honestly don’t know,” Marinette admitted. “My training as the guardian was far from complete when the responsibility was thrust on me. There’s a lot about the miraculous that I don’t know. Though…” Her words trailed off as she looked lost in thought for a moment. “When I said to Master Fu that Gabriel couldn’t possibly be Hawk Moth because he was akumatized, he seemed to agree. But now,” she sat down on her computer chair, “I seem to remember his words were that it was _probable_ , not that it was certain.”

Adrien sat down on the chaise longue, considering those words. “So, he really is still a suspect.”

“I’m not saying he is Hawk Moth, Adrien. I’m only saying that we don’t know for sure that he’s _not._ ”

Adrien watched her as she turned to her computer, going into a folder deep down before clicking on a file and typing in a password to open it. Once it came up on the screen, he recognized it immediately. “That’s Father’s book!”

“This book,” Marinette said, pointing to the screen, “is why I suspected him in the first place. It’s a book about the miraculous. When Tikki saw you with it, she insisted that it was important.” Marinette paused, and her cheeks turned pink. Adrien simply looked at his wife, feeling a bit of surprise.

“Tikki saw me with the book?” Adrien looked over at the kwami, who simply smiled.

Marinette looked straight back at Adrien before continuing. “Ok, from now on, no secrets. To that end, I have a confession.” Marinette paused again and took a deep breath. Adrien had no idea where Marinette was going with this, but he could tell she was nervous, or maybe feeling a bit guilty, about what she was about to tell him. He simply nodded for her to continue.

“I was … spying on you the day you brought that book to school. I may have been a little … jealous … of the way Lila was around you. I know now that was, to borrow a phrase from a certain blonde girl, utterly ridiculous, but at the time, immature thirteen-year-old me couldn’t stand the thought of her getting close to you.”

“Lila was never a serious rival for my affections, Marinette.”

“I know that now, but at the time I was kinda freaked out.” She shook her head to get her train of thought back on track. “Anyway, I saw her steal the book and put it in her bag. So, I followed you both to the park, where I saw her put it in the trash can.”

“Lila _threw it away?_ ” Adrien responded, shocked.

“I think she was trying to hide it from you, with the intention of coming back for it, but I beat her to it. Tikki directed me to go to Master Fu, which is, incidentally, when I learned who he was. He had been looking for the book for years, and when I showed up with it, his theory was that the owner of the book could be Hawk Moth.”

“So that’s why you suspected him,” Adrien realized.

“Exactly. Though, when your father was akumatized, he was no longer seriously considered.” Marinette paused for a moment, her eyes looking downward before finally looking back up and meeting Adrien’s gaze. “We made a copy of the book, which you see here on my computer, and then I took the original to your father and returned it.”

“And then he let me return to school.” Adrien wasn’t quite sure what to make of this new revelation about their past. “I understand now why you did what you did. I don’t blame you.” Marinette breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing those words. “So, what does it contain, exactly?”

“As I mentioned earlier, it has lots of information about the miraculous, including, among other things, the recipes for the power ups. Unfortunately, I can’t read most of it.” She scrolled through the pages on her screen to the page on the butterfly miraculous. “It might say in here whether the butterfly holder could akumatize himself, but I can’t read it to know.”

“Then let’s assume for now that he can,” Adrien said.

Marinette was silent for a few moments, her expression one of thoughtfulness. “I’m not all that great at this investigation stuff, but I know someone who is.”

Adrien looked at his wife for a moment before realizing who she was thinking of. “Alya.”

Marinette smiled. “Exactly. She figured out we were dating before even _we_ knew. If there’s anyone that could unmask Hawk Moth, it’s her.”

“Do you really want to trust her with this? I mean, she’s the owner of the Ladyblog – it would be hard for her to keep her mouth shut.”

Marinette gave Adrien a look he couldn’t quite place. “I trust her completely. I mean …” Then, realization entered her eyes. “I forgot that you don’t know. Ok, no secrets.” Adrien looked at Marinette, wondering what juicy secret he was about to learn. “Alya is Rena Rouge.”

Adrien gasped at this news. “You mean you trusted someone with a miraculous who had the stated goal of unmasking you?”

“I just knew I could trust her. She stopped trying to unmask me right around the time I first loaned it to her. She was hesitant to return it at first, but she did so, and has proven reliable every time I’ve called on her since. I don’t know if she’s since figured me out or not, but if she has she’s kept quiet about it.”

Adrien leaned back on the chaise and let out a big breath, processing this news. “That must mean that Nino is Carapace.” He wasn’t quite sure what to make of the fact that he’s fought beside his best bud on multiple occasions. Then again, he was still coming to terms with the fact that he fought beside the love of his life nearly every day, and that she had fully accepted him.

Marinette smiled. “Yup.” She stood up from her chair. “Help me move my desk. I need the box. It’s hidden under and behind it.

“So, what do you have in mind?” Adrien asked as he helped her move the desk to get to the miracle box. He pondered for a moment how she got to it before when she needed it, but then realized that she could transform easily enough if she needed to move the desk while she was alone.

“I’m going to recruit Rena Rouge to help us unmask Hawk Moth,” Marinette said as she grabbed the box, opened it, and took out the Fox necklace. Trixx immediately emerged from it.

“Greetings, Guardian,” he said, then did a double-take when he noticed Adrien standing next to Marinette.

“Greetings, Trixx,” Marinette said. “Don’t worry, Adrien is going to help me with Guardian duties going forward.”

Trixx simply nodded in understanding. “What can I do for you?”

“Do you feel like going on a long-term assignment with your holder?”

“I would love to!” Trixx was absolutely excited about the prospect.

“It’s late, but I doubt Alya’s in bed yet. Let’s go pay her a visit, shall we?”

“After you, M’lady!” Adrien said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features the limit of Lila's involvement in the story. She's a character that I haven't figured out how to effectively write, and she's not one you can do halfway. So, for the purposes of this story, I envision that she went back to Italy with her mother shortly after the NY special and hasn't been heard from by our heroes or their friends since. I haven't ruled out the possibility of someday writing an expose Lila story, but this story isn't it.
> 
> Additionally, yes, Miracle Queen did happen. For the purposes of this story, the miraculous ladybugs reversed the damage of everyone's identity being revealed (basically by erasing the memories of anyone that saw them who didn't already know), which means that Ladybug's team is still intact. As yet, there is nothing in canon that goes either direction with that, so I'm choosing to keep the team for this story (I may write other stories in the future that take the other direction with this).


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A few minutes later, Ladybug and Chat Noir were just outside Alya’s bedroom window. Sure enough, she was not in bed. She was sitting at her computer, going through photos and videos of the superhero couple playing tag around the city, compiling them into a post for the Ladyblog. Engrossed as she was in her work, she didn’t immediately notice the couple watching her.

Grinning, Ladybug finally tapped on the glass. Alya turned towards the noise, and her face immediately lit up upon seeing not just one, but both of the heroes on her window. She jumped up and opened it for them.

“Ladybug! Chat Noir! Is something wrong? Is there an akuma?”

Ladybug waved her hand in a dismissing gesture. “No, nothing like that. We just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. Is now a good time? Can we come in?”

“For you two, any time is a good time. Come in.” Alya gestured into her room as the heroes came in through the window. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“We have an assignment for you,” Chat said.

“For you guys, anything,” Alya responded.

“Alya,” Ladybug said, “I appreciate your dedication, but I want you to know that this is a dangerous assignment. Don’t just leap into it before you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

“Okay,” Alya said. “So, what is it?”

Ladybug decided to go straight to the point. “We would like you to use your investigative talents to unmask Hawk Moth.”

A slight gasp escaped Alya’s lips upon hearing those words. “Wow. Okay. I can see why you would say this is dangerous – if Hawk Moth figures out what I’m up to…” Her voice drifted off, the consequences of such a situation being left unsaid.

“If you don’t want to do it, I understand. I won’t think any less of you,” Ladybug said.

“I’ll do it!” Alya practically shouted. Then softer, she repeated, “I’ll do it. I didn’t mean to imply that I didn’t want to. I want to help you however I can. And I’ll be careful.” Her gaze drifted to Chat, and Ladybug could tell that she had another thought that she wasn’t voicing due to his presence and she was pretty sure she knew what that was.

“I was hoping you would say that,” Ladybug smiled as she tapped her yoyo and reached in to pull something out. In her hand was now a small miraculous box. “Rena Rouge, you may use your miraculous to aid you in this quest. You will return it to me when I ask for it.” Ladybug extended her hand with the miraculous box in her palm. “Can I trust you?”

“Of course you can, Ladybug.” Alya squeaked in excitement as she took the box from Ladybug. “Though, I’m a bit surprised,” she said, glancing at Chat. “I thought my identity was supposed to be a secret from everyone, even other heroes.”

“Carapace knows who you are,” Chat Noir said.

“Well, yes, but nobody else does.”

“Alya,” Ladybug interjected. “Chat Noir and I have reached a point in our relationship that we are no longer keeping any secrets from each other. It is still critical that nobody else find out, but Chat has my full confidence in this secret.”

Alya nodded in understanding, and then her eyes widened as she realized the full significance of what she just learned. “Does that mean you know who each other are?”

“Yes, Alya,” Ladybug admitted. “But it’s important that you not tell anyone that. No posting about it on the Ladyblog.”

Alya did a crossing motion with her free hand over her chest. “You have my word. Oh, wow, this is so exciting! I knew something had changed recently! And I can’t believe I get to keep Trixx!”

Ladybug couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s excitement. “And that skill in observation is what we are relying on for why we are giving you this assignment. I’m not going to tell you how to go about doing it, because I don’t really know the best way to research something like this. I trust you to approach it in the right way.”

“I won’t let you down, Ladybug. So question: now that I have this,” she held up the miraculous box, “do you want me to come and help you when you guys face akuma victims, or hold back?”

“For now,” Ladybug answered, “hold back. I’ll contact you if I think we need you.”

Alya nodded and opened the box. Trixx immediately emerged in a flash of orange light. “Alya! It’s so good to see you!” the little kwami said.

“Trixx! I’ve missed you so much!”

Ladybug and Chat Noir smiled at each other as Alya had her reunion with her kwami. “I think we’ll take our leave now. Let us know if you find anything or need any help,” Ladybug said as she stood up.

“How will I get in touch with you?” Alya asked.

“You can use your flute as a communicator. My yoyo and Chat’s staff are similar in that regard. Trixx can fill you in on the details.”

“Thanks, Ladybug, for trusting me with this,” Alya said, gratitude in her eyes.

“You’re welcome. You’ve earned it.”

* * *

Several hours later, the couple were both in bed, sleeping. Or at least, they were trying to sleep. Adrien was restless, moving around in fits and starts in the bed, which was keeping Marinette awake. She wasn’t annoyed so much as she was concerned for her kitty. She rested a hand on his shoulder to try to give a little bit of comfort, which worked after a few moments as his breathing slowly became deeper as he finally went into a more sound sleep. Smiling to herself, she felt herself drifting off to sleep.

Suddenly, Adrien shot up in the bed, gasping. The sudden motion woke Marinette with a start as she, too, sat up. “Adrien?”

Adrien gasped for a few seconds, glancing around, getting his bearings. Then his eyes rested on his wife, where he saw the look of concern on her face. With that, he finally calmed down. “It’s nothing, just a nightmare.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Marinette watched her husband consider before responding. “It’s nothing. It’s silly.”

“Adrien, it obviously isn’t nothing. You can talk to me.”

“I … dreamed that we were arguing. I don’t even know what about. You …” he gulped before continuing, “you said you didn’t love me anymore and slapped me.”

“Oh, Kitty.” Marinette cupped her hand on Adrien’s face. “You’re right, it was just a nightmare. I’m right here, and I love you so so much.”

Adrien smiled softly as tears welled up in his eyes. He leaned forward a bit, bringing his forehead against Marinette’s. “I’m so glad I have you. I’m so glad that I can open up to you. I’ve never had that before. Whenever I tried to talk to Father about my feelings, he would just brush it off and say it was a waste of time. Nathalie wasn’t much better. But you … you just listen and accept without judgement. I suppose I might have been able to have that with Mother, but …” he trailed off.

“That’s what it means to love someone,” Marinette said. “At least that’s what it means to me. You’ve seen me at my worst, and helped me through it, and still love me. It’s no different for me to do the same for you.”

“I know. It’s just … so new to me. I’m grateful that I have this, now, more than you could ever know. Even though I know it’s irrational, I’m afraid I’m going to lose it.”

Marinette could tell by the look in his eyes that he was being sincere. “Adrien, that’s not something you need to worry about.”

“I know,” Adrien paused before continuing. “You know that I didn’t have a normal childhood. I missed out on a lot of experiences that would have taught me about appropriate social interaction. I have this fear that …” he gulped, not sure if he wanted to continue, but Marinette gestured for him to go on. “I’m afraid that I’ll say or do something that will be so repulsive to you that you won’t want to have anything to do with me, and I won’t realize what I did wrong until it’s too late.” His eyes drifted downward, ashamed as he was to be admitting this.

Marinette’s heart leaped in her throat as she realized the weight her kitty was carrying. She knew that he came from a dysfunctional home, void of the love and support that she herself had taken for granted. She knew that this weighed heavily on him, but she didn’t realize until that moment just how heavy that weight really was for him. Ever since his mother disappeared when he was twelve, he had been lonely, never feeling real love, never having anyone besides Plagg to talk to. His mother’s disappearance certainly didn’t help matters, and now that he had a taste of what real love felt like, what it was all about, his greatest fear was that he would lose it.

Marinette vowed to herself that she would never do anything that might make him think his fear had any basis in reality.

“Adrien, I know that you will never intentionally do anything to hurt me. I understand where your fear is coming from, so I’ll say this: if you ever accidentally hurt me, I promise I will talk to you about it. We’ll figure it out, and we will work through it. You don’t have to worry that I’ll leave you because of a misunderstanding.”

Marinette watched as Adrien’s entire demeanor relaxed, and she knew she had said the right thing.

“Thank you, my love. You’ve always known just what to say to make me feel better.” With that, he brought his lips to hers in a gentle, loving kiss. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, my kitty,” Marinette said in between kisses as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling their bodies close together.

They didn’t get any sleep after that.

* * *

Sabine was in the family kitchen, cooking up some crepes for breakfast when a slight noise drew her attention as Marinette and Adrien entered. They were holding hands and looked tired, like they hadn’t gotten much sleep, but they had expressions of happiness and contentment. Sabine knew immediately what those expressions meant.

“Morning, you two! Have fun last night?” she said with a wink. The immediate blushing from both of them confirmed her suspicions. “Oh, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. When Tom and I first got married, we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.”

“Maman!” Marinette shrieked, her face as red as her ladybug suit.

“Oh, Marinette, dear,” Sabine said, giggling. “You know I’m happy for you.” She paused for a moment, taking in the sight of her daughter and son-in-law, who were so obviously smitten with each other. “Would you like some breakfast? I can whip up a few more crepes.”

There was a moment of silence as Marinette was still flustered from her mother’s earlier embarrassment. It was Adrien who finally answered. “We would love that, Mme. Cheng.”

“Call me Sabine, dear,” she corrected.

“Of course, Sabine.”

Just then, Tom entered the room, humming his working tune. He paused when he saw who else was there. “Good morning, lovebirds!”

Sabine giggled while Marinette blushed yet again. “Morning, Papa.”

Breakfast was a nice, casual affair, at least once Marinette’s earlier embarrassment died down. She was her normal, cheerful self, but Sabine couldn’t help but notice that Adrien seemed a bit reserved. He was happy, but almost too polite. She watched the two closely, and started to realize that Marinette, too, had noticed Adrien’s behavior and was trying to get him to loosen up.

“So, Adrien,” Sabine said, “with everything that’s happened over the last week, have you had much chance to think about your future?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, how do you see yourself in five or ten years?”

Adrien paused before answering. “I see myself starting a family.” He looked lovingly at his wife. “In five years, I’m guessing we’ll have a kid or two, and a hamster.”

“We already knew that,” Tom interjected. “What we mean is, how do you see yourself professionally in five years?”

Adrien paused before answering. “I’m not really sure, to be honest. I’ve lived my entire life under my father’s shadow, doing what he expected of me, and suddenly I find that I’m in a position to chart my own path.”

Tom smiled and gently laid his hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “You’re family now, Son. That means we will do whatever we can to help you out whatever you decide.”

Adrien smiled, a soft, genuine smile. “Thank you, sir.”

“Tom.”

“Tom. To be honest, I haven’t thought much beyond simply wanting to be there to help Marinette reach her dreams.”

“Adrien, that’s very sweet of you,” Marinette said, “but I’m not the only one in this marriage. You deserve to pursue your own dreams just as much as I do.”

“Ahh, Bugaboo, but my dream is sitting right next to me. Her happiness is my happiness.”

Marinette blushed yet again, but charged forward anyway. “And _her_ happiness comes from seeing you happy.” She looked at her husband, a soft smile on her lips.

Sabine giggled softly before turning to Tom. “Aren’t they so cute?”

“They sure are.”

Marinette’s phone then started to ring, causing her to jump slightly. She looked down at it and frowned in confusion. “Jagged Stone? Why is he calling me?” She excused herself from the table before answering. “Hello?”

* * *

“Marinette, my girl! How’s my favorite young designer?”

“Jagged! I’m fine, you?”

“Never better! Listen, I just heard the news that you and that model boy Adrien got hitched. That’s so awesome!”

“Thanks, Jagged.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were gonna do that? I totally would have been there to do some rockin for your wedding and reception!”

Marinette smiled at the thought of Jagged’s band performing at her wedding. “Don’t take it personally. We didn’t even tell my parents until after the fact.”

“That was because of that loser of a father-in-law, right?”

“One of the main reasons, yes.”

“I can’t believe he’d stoop so low as to condemn your brilliant work for some petty vengeance. That is _not_ rockin!” 

Marinette’s mood definitely lightened hearing someone as well-respected as Jagged call her work _brilliant._

“That actually brings up the main reason I called,” Jagged continued. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and when I heard about you getting married and the fallout from M. Agreste, I just knew I needed to put my money where my mouth is. I have a business proposition for you.”

“What sort of proposition?” Marinette asked carefully, not wanting to get too excited just yet.

“I need a designer for my upcoming North American tour. I’d like that to be you. You’d be in charge of me and my band’s outfits, and other aspects of the visual design. I’d pay you, of course.”

Marinette was speechless. She replayed what she just heard in her mind to make sure she heard it correctly. This could be her big break! “You want … me?”

“Of course I want you! Your work is awesome! It’s guaranteed to make my tour a success!”

Stunned, Marinette sat down. “I don’t know what to say!”

“Say you’ll do it. Say you’ll be my chief visual designer.”

“This is a lot bigger than designing an album cover. It will set the tone for your entire tour. Are you sure you don’t want someone more established?”

“I’m sure I could find someone else if you don’t want to, but I want you. You get my style, my vibe, and I’m confident that you will come up with something that will fit that style and still resonate with the Americans. So what say you?”

“I’ll do it! I’m not going to turn down an opportunity like this!”

“Great! I’ll have Penny give you a call later to work out details.”

“I look forward to that call!”

“Excellent! I was hoping you’d agree to this. I’ve got a concert in Paris next weekend, and I will arrange for you and a few of your friends to get VIP passes.”

“Oh, I’d love that!”

“Well, I’ve got a sound check in a few minutes for my concert in London, so I got to go. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

With that, the phone call ended.

“Eeeeeeee!” Marinette squealed, her hands on her cheeks.

“What is it?” Adrien asked.

“Jagged Stone asked me to be the chief visual designer for his upcoming North American tour!”

“Oh, honey, that’s really good news!” Sabine said.

“My little girl, famous graphic designer,” Tom added.

“I knew others would see your talent for what it is!” Adrien beamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took a bit longer to post this chapter because I wanted to review what I had already written but hadn't posted yet. Every chapter from 5 to 10 had at least minor edits, whereas chapter 10 had a significant rewrite (I changed the POV of one of the scenes). As it stands now, I have 10 completed chapters with progress made on 11.
> 
> And yes, I wanted them to consummate their marriage. I wrestled for quite a while on how to do that without breaching the T rating; I hope I succeeded.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and kudos!

Chapter 6

Later that day, Adrien walked into his old school for his weekly fencing practice. Of all the things his father had kept him busy with over the years, the fencing was what he enjoyed the most. He decided he wanted to continue with it. Not only did he find it to be fun, but he had also found it to be useful training for his superhero work as well.

Marinette stayed home to work on the Kitty Section project, since she wanted to get it completed so that she could focus her efforts on the new commission from Jagged. Adrien knew that his wife’s talents were amazing, and he was glad that others could see that as well – especially now, with his father trying his best to ruin her. Jagged Stone’s commission meant that she would receive significant exposure, a break she sorely needed. What’s more, it came entirely from her own efforts, which means that nobody could claim that her big break came from nepotism.

“Monsieur Adrien!” D’Argencourt exclaimed when he saw his star pupil enter the room. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to be here!”

“What do you mean?” Adrien asked.

“Your father’s assistant called to disenroll you. I tried to call you to confirm, but your phone was disconnected.”

“Yea, my father and I kinda had a fallout. If it’s okay, I’d like to continue coming.”

“Of course, Adrien. I made sure to keep your spot for you until I knew for sure.”

Adrien spent a few minutes filling out some paperwork to enroll for himself instead of under his father’s authority. He almost put the wrong last name on the form before pausing. Adrien Dupain-Cheng, he finally wrote down in the appropriate space on the form. His heart welled up in emotion that he hadn’t expected as he looked at his new name, there in ink, on the enrollment form.

“Hello, Adrien,” a voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see Kagami looking at him.

“Hey, Kagami.”

“I heard about you and Marinette. You two make an excellent couple.”

Adrien smiled wistfully at the mention of his wife. “Thank you.” There was a moment of awkward silence between them. If it hadn’t been for Ladybug, for Marinette, Adrien probably could have found happiness with Kagami. While he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong, he felt a tad guilty that he had broken the other woman’s heart.

Their relationship had been brief. They got along well enough, but they never really connected the way he did with his lady. It wasn’t for lack of trying, especially on Kagami’s part, but they lacked the certain spark that would have indicated that there was something more. In the end, it was Kagami that had called it off, though the separation had been amicable.

“Listen, Kagami,” Adrien said. “I don’t want this to change anything between us. I value you as a friend, and I think Marinette does, too. Neither of us want to lose that.”

Kagami smiled with a surprising amount of warmth. “I know, Adrien. I value our friendship as well. I would never want to get in the way of what you and Marinette have with each other. In truth, I don’t think I ever had a chance against that. I’m just glad that you finally chose your target and followed through.”

Adrien looked at Kagami with a bit of confusion. Kagami had broken it off with him before he and Ladybug got together, which of course was well before he know that his lady was Marinette.

“I’ll see you on the court.” Kagami turned around and walked off to the locker room to change into her fencing outfit, leaving behind a confused Adrien.

* * *

Marinette was in the zone. Despite not getting much sleep the night before, the happiness she felt from the last few days with Adrien got her creative juices flowing in a way that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Working the fabric in her sewing machine, she was nearly finished with the Kitty Section commission, which she hoped to be able to deliver later that day, slightly ahead of schedule.

She also already had several pages of sketches in her sketchbook with ideas for the new Jagged Stone commission that she had just received. She hadn’t yet received the call from Penny, so she supposed it wasn’t actually official yet as there wasn’t a signed contract, but that didn’t stop her from starting work on it.

She wanted it to be amazing.

She wanted it to be fabulous.

She wanted it to be … _Marinette._

Make no mistake, she wanted it to be Jagged, but she was confident that she could combine her own style with his in a way that would make people who saw it want to look to see more of her work.

That thought made her pause for a moment. This was _international_ exposure, not just building up a local reputation as she had been doing so far. She hadn’t really thought of the implications of that until that moment, excited as she was simply to have her work showcased by such a visible client. This could garner attention of important people in the industry over in America. Maybe the next time she goes to New York it will be to showcase her work at a fashion show over there!

 _Don’t get ahead of yourself, Marinette. Just focus on doing a good job for Jagged, and the rest will follow,_ she told herself.

She laughed to herself, earning a raised eyebrow from Tikki. Marinette ignored it and got back to work.

* * *

Alya took her assignment to unmask Hawk Moth seriously. She could barely sleep after Ladybug and Chat Noir left her room the night before, her mind on overdrive working out how she was going to approach it. She still wasn’t completely sure how to proceed, but she was now at her computer, charting all the locations of known akumatizations over the last 5 years since Hawk Moth first appeared. Starting with Stoneheart, she added a point to a digital map for every case where the initial contact with the akuma was known.

She still had a ways to go, but she was already starting to see a pattern – a significant number of akumas started out in a relatively small portion of the city. A section of the city that included such things as Francois Dupont, Notre Dame, Marinette’s home, and the Agreste mansion.

She always found it interesting that of all her classmates back at Francois Dupont, Marinette and Adrien were the only ones to never be akumatized. She wasn’t sure if this was relevant or not, but it was a data point that was worth considering.

Her theory was that akumas would tend to find people who were emotionally vulnerable before going very far. Simply given the sheer number of people in Paris, there were bound to be any number of people in an emotional state suitable for akumatization at any given time. While she supposed that Hawk Moth could target specific people anywhere in the city if he wanted, when he wasn’t picky on who he would victimize he would probably wind up hitting someone relatively close by. The butterfly would latch on to the first person it found that was in the right emotional state. If this turned out to be true, then there was a strong chance that his lair was somewhere within that relatively small part of the city. There were certainly some outliers, such as Startrain and Techlonizor, but Alya believed those were the exceptions that proved the rule.

“It looks like you might be on to something,” Trixx said as he looked at the map with the marks.

“Yea, this is actually more clear than I expected. I mean, I kinda sensed it before that akumas seemed to favor this part of town, but seeing it like this, visually, I can’t help but wonder if there’s something to it.”

“You should tell Ladybug.”

“I will, but I want to finish this chart, first. I want the dataset to be as complete as possible. I’ll call her tonight.”

* * *

“You are on _fire_ today, Adrien!” D’Argencourt said, after he soundly won his third straight bout against Kagami. “Keep fencing like that and you might make the Olympic team.”

“I don’t know about that, though I appreciate the compliment,” Adrien said.

“Maybe we just had to get him married off to unlock his potential,” Kagami said, as dryly as ever.

Adrien choked, surprised to hear such a comment from his fencing partner. “Well, I guess Marinette brings out the best in me.”

“We’ll see if you can keep it up. If you can, you just might make the Olympics. _If_ that’s what you want.” Kagami gave him a knowing look, and then turned around and headed off into the locker room.

* * *

“Finished!” Marinette declared, holding up the last of the outfits – this one would be worn by Juleka. She was actually quite pleased with how it turned out.

“It’s awesome, Marinette,” Tikki beamed. “Your friends are going to love it!”

“I hope so, Tikki. They’ve always put such faith in me, and I don’t want to let them down. I mean, what if they hate it? Word will get out that I failed, and then the media will latch on to the criticism from Gabriel, and then Jagged will have second thoughts about hiring me to design for his tour, and then nobody will hire me at all, and my career will be ruined!” She put her head down on her desk, forehead in contact with the wood.

“You’re doing it again, Marinette,” Tikki said.

“Doing what?”

“Catastrophizing. It doesn’t do you any good. Your friends will love your work. I’m sure of it!”

Marinette took a deep breath to calm down. She knew Tikki was right, but she still had a sense of anxiety, like all that she had worked for could come crashing down at any moment. After all, she was just Marinette, not anyone special. There were other designers out there who could have done just as well, if not better, than she had.

Her self-deprecating thoughts were interrupted by her phone sounding an akuma alert. She picked it up from its place on her desk, looking at the details. It was about a kilometer away, and had already caused notable damage, with people nearby running in fear.

“I guess I’ll be meeting Chat there, just like old times. Tikki, spots on!”

Ladybug bounded up the ladder to her balcony and took a quick look around to make sure nobody would see where she was coming from, and then jumped off in the direction of the akuma.

* * *

Adrien was in the dressing room at the school, changing out of his fencing gear and into his normal clothes. He was thinking about Kagami, how her reaction wasn’t at all like he expected. He had worried that his getting married would negatively affect his friendship with Kagami, but he could see now that those fears were unfounded. What surprised him, though, is the way she looked at him. As if she knew something that he didn’t.

His ruminations were interrupted by the akuma alert coming from his phone. Thoughts of Kagami pushed aside, he picked up the phone and looked at the details of the alert. About a kilometer away, the details of his powers were scarce, but it was clear that people were fleeing in fear.

Glancing around to make sure nobody was around, he called his transformation. “Plagg, claws out!”

Grabbing his bag, Chat Noir jumped up to and out the window, catching a brief glimpse of Ladybug heading off in the direction of the attack. He quickly bounded up to Marinette’s balcony and dropped his bag of fencing gear before following off after his Lady.

* * *

Alya had just placed another pin on the virtual map of Paris on her computer when the akuma alert sounded on her phone. She looked at it, and realized that it wasn’t far. Setting her work aside for the moment, she grabbed her bicycle helmet and started heading out the door.

“Didn’t Ladybug say she would call you if she needed help?” Trixx asked.

“Yes, but I’m going there as Alya, the Ladyblogger, not Rena Rouge. It’s normal for me to be at the site of akuma fights to film them for the Ladyblog. It would look suspicious if that suddenly changed. Don’t worry, I won’t get directly involved unless Ladybug makes it clear she needs me.”

“I trust you, Alya, and I know Ladybug does, too. Just stay safe.”

“I will.”

* * *

Sabine had just completed an order for a walk-in customer when her phone sounded with the akuma alert. It used to be that when such an alert came in, she, like many Parisians, would just look at it long enough to determine if it was close enough to be a danger, and then go back to whatever she was doing. Now, however, with what she had recently learned, she couldn’t help but look at more details of what was happening.

She knew that her daughter was upstairs in her room, working on a design commission while she waited for Adrien to return from fencing. Well, she knew that’s where she _had_ been; with the alert now sounded, she had no doubt that Ladybug was already on her way. The thought occurred to her how fortuitous it was that Marinette had that skylight exit that she could use to respond to akuma alerts quickly without alerting others (including her parents) what was going on. How many times had her daughter snuck out and back in through the roof as Ladybug without her knowing?

Sabine felt her anxiety rise as she read reports that there were large numbers of people fleeing in fear. That meant that it was a dangerous enemy, but Ladybug would meet it head on to protect people she didn’t even know. As Sabine had said to her husband earlier, she was proud of their daughter, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t afraid for her.

Her eyes drifted up to the TV mounted on the ceiling, which was showing live footage of the akuma from a news helicopter. She couldn’t look away from it, the surreal scene playing out in front of her as Ladybug appeared and engaged in battle.

* * *

Ladybug watched in horror as the akuma, dubbed Gravekeeper, placed his hands on the hood of a car with several people inside and shoved. The car suddenly … wasn’t there anymore. It was swallowed up by the ground, the occupants screaming as the car became buried in the earth.

“If everyone is buried, there will be nobody around to defile burial sites!” the akuma shouted.

“If everyone is buried, there won’t be anyone left to honor and respect those sites,” Ladybug retorted as she dropped down in front of the villain of the day.

The butterfly mask briefly appeared on his face, before he shouted out, “Ladybug! Give me your miraculous, or I’ll bury every person in this city.”

“Not a chance.”

As expected, Gravekeeper lunged at Ladybug with speed enhanced by the akumitization, but Ladybug was ready for it and easily dodged to the side. Just then, Chat Noir landed beside her.

“You’ve got it all backwards. Usually grave-themed villains have powers relating to raising the dead, not burying the living.”

“You should learn to _respect_ the dead!” Gravekeeper charged at Chat Noir, who dodged as easily as Ladybug had moments earlier.

Ladybug flung her yoyo at her adversary, hoping to tie him up to allow them to find and break the akumatized object without risking being hit by his powers. Just as Ladybug flicked her fingers to change the yoyo’s trajectory to wrap him up, he suddenly batted it aside with his bare hand. The yoyo went careening off to the side, and before Ladybug could regain control, it got tangled up in a tree.

Taking advantage of the situation, Gravekeeper once again lunged at Ladybug, only this time she was unable to dodge due to her yoyo’s entanglement. He grabbed her shoulders and _shoved._

She braced herself for impact with the ground, worried that she might get a concussion. It wouldn’t be the first time she had to fight after taking a hit, but it wasn’t something she liked doing if it could be avoided.

Unfortunately, she didn’t hit the ground. When she reached the ground, she just kept going, dirt caving in around her. She instinctively curled up into fetal position, raising her arms to cover her face. The noise of the falling dirt suddenly stopped, and then…

Darkness.

Silence.

She couldn’t move, with the intense weight of the ground above her pressing down.

Then it hit her. She was … buried alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry for the cliffhanger.
> 
> Up until I wrote this chapter, I wasn't sure if I was including the NY special in the canon for this story. When 11JJ11 completed United, the NY special wasn't out yet, but there isn't anything in the special that contradicts her story. Events in the special will play a (minor) part in a later chapter, so if you haven't seen it yet I recommend you look it up because later chapters will have spoilers for it.
> 
> I had wanted to complete chapter 11 before posting this chapter, but I'm dealing with writer's block. Don't worry, I'll get through it - I know what I want to have happen.
> 
> You may also notice that I've set 15 chapters as the projection. This is an estimate, based on what I expect to happen in each remaining chapter. I'm almost certain it won't be shorter, but there's a fair chance it will be longer (after all, chapters 6 and 7 were originally supposed to be one chapter, but it got to be rather long - hence why I broke it where I did).
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't want too keep you guys waiting for too long with that cliffhanger.

Chapter 7

“LADYBUG!” Chat Noir shouted as the ground swallowed up his partner. He leaped forward, frantically digging at the ground with his claws where the love of his life had been standing a moment earlier, but this only lasted for a brief moment as Gravekeeper lunged at him as well. At the last moment, he grabbed his staff and swung it at the villain with all his might, solidly connecting with his enemy’s chest. Gravekeeper went flying back about twenty meters, momentarily dazed. The butterfly mask appeared over his face for a few seconds while Chat Noir went back to frantically digging at the ground.

“It’s over, Chat Noir. Give me your miraculous or she dies in the earth where she lay. Fight me, and you will join her!”

Chat gasped as he looked up at Gravekeeper – It was very rare that a villain had threatened to actually _kill_ them before. Sure, they had been in many situations where death was a possibility, but it had never been the explicit objective of the enemy they were facing.

He knew the clock was ticking. Ladybug only had minutes before she would run out of air and suffocate. He couldn’t believe that he was actually considering surrendering, but the thought of losing his Lady was absolutely unbearable. Especially now that they had finally found each other.

* * *

Hawk Moth grinned when he saw Ladybug take the hit and get swallowed up in the earth. Shortly after his champion got knocked back, he made contact.

“Well done, Gravekeeper. Now we just wait for Ladybug to suffocate, and then taking her miraculous will be easy after we dig her up! See if you can use the situation to convince Chat Noir to surrender.”

He no longer cared what happened to the young lady under the mask. She had been such a thorn in his side for so long that if she had to die for him to get his wish – so be it.

* * *

Alya had just gotten to a good vantage point to film the fight and pressed the record button on her phone when Ladybug took the hit. She gasped as she watched the ground swallow up the heroine, the only evidence left behind being her yoyo string still sticking out of the ground, the yoyo itself still tangled up in the tree.

“Ladybug!” she whispered, not wanting to give away her position. Her heart went out to Chat Noir, who she watched frantically digging where his partner had disappeared. She knew they were a couple, and had recently become much closer, so she could only imagine how he must be feeling.

With one hand still aiming her phone at the action, she clutched her miraculous necklace with the other, wondering if she should jump in. She decided on a wait and see approach – ready to whisper the transformation phrase, but holding back to see if Chat could handle it himself.

* * *

Sabine wordlessly cried out when she saw Ladybug fall into the earth. Tom, who had just entered the room, also had his eyes glued to the TV, and he wrapped his large arms around his wife. No words were needed; they both knew their daughter was in mortal danger, but they could do absolutely nothing about it.

“Please save her,” Sabine heard herself whispering to the TV, to Chat Noir, who was frantically digging at the spot where his wife was buried.

* * *

Ladybug felt an initial spike of panic as she realized her predicament. She struggled for a few moments against the weight above her, but that was completely useless – she couldn’t move at all.

_Don’t panic, Ladybug. That will only use up your limited air faster. Calm yourself down, buy as much time as you can._

She knew that Chat Noir would stop at nothing to save her, so her best chance was to give him as much time as possible. She went through some breathing exercises that Master Fu had taught her years earlier, which seemed to be working as she felt her heart rate slow down and her breathing stabilize.

As that initial panic subsided, she began considering her options. She could still feel the loop of her yoyo string around her finger, and she guessed that the yoyo itself was still stuck in the tree. This was good – if nothing else it served as a marker for where she was, making it easier for Chat or anyone else seeking to dig her up to find her.

_What if Chat gets hit, too?_

The unwelcome thought entered her mind unbidden, causing another spike in her anxiety. If he got hit, they would both suffocate and die. Would Hawk Moth care that he had killed them, or would he consider that the ultimate victory in his quest for their miraculous?

She figured that if Chat also got hit, Rena Rouge might make a move, but she wasn’t confident in the outcome in that case. If Gravekeeper managed to overpower both of them, Rena wasn’t likely to do any better given that she was much less experienced with a miraculous.

_Please don’t get yourself killed trying to save us, Alya._

She momentarily wondered what happens when a miraculous holder dies while transformed. In thousands of years of miraculous wielders using their powers in combat, surely that had happened before. Does the transformation fade upon death? Would they find Marinette buried in the earth when she was finally dug up, or would she still be Ladybug? She made a mental note to ask Tikki about it later. If there was a later for her.

All she could do now was wait, and hope for the best. She had faith in her kitty.

* * *

Chat Noir found himself reaching for the ring on his finger. The thought of losing his Lady was overpowering any other mental process. If she was gone, then all the love she had would also be gone, and he couldn’t bear losing that. His very existence would go back to being unloved, with no one to turn to. That was something he couldn’t bear.

Something about the way Gravekeeper was grinning gave him pause. It was an evil grin, the grin of a triumphant villain.

_What am I doing?_

In that moment, he realized that Ladybug would never want him to surrender to save her. She would rather die than let their miraculous fall into Hawk Moth’s hands. To do what he was about to do would be a betrayal. Even if it worked, which wasn’t a guarantee, she would never look at him the same way knowing what he sacrificed to save her. He loved her enough to let her go, if that was what was needed, even though he knew it would absolutely destroy him if the worst happened. He would save his Lady, or he would die trying. There was no other option.

“No,” was all he said, as he split his staff in two and began advancing on his enemy.

“No?” Gravekeeper echoed, genuinely surprised. 

“No.”

“Then you will die beside your Lady.”

* * *

Alya was in shock as she saw Chat reaching for his ring. “What are you doing?” she whispered.

Trixx peeked out from his hiding place and gasped. “Alya, don’t let him do that!”

It took her a second to realize what Trixx was saying, but once she did, she didn’t hesitate. “Trixx, let’s pounce!”

Rena Rouge immediately grabbed her flute and brought it to her lips, playing the brief melody to activate her power. “Mirage!”

Suddenly, Ladybug appeared behind Gravekeeper, just as Chat began advancing on the villain. “Looking for me?” the illusion said.

Both Chat and Gravekeeper gasped. “How did you…” the villain said as he spun around. He didn’t waste any more time before lunging at the illusion, but the illusion was too quick and began retreating, drawing him away. Chat started also following after Gravekeeper and the Ladybug illusion – apparently, he was fooled as well.

Realizing that this wouldn’t do at all, Rena emerged from her hiding place. “Chat!”

He stopped dead on his tracks, spinning around, while Gravekeeper continued chasing the illusion off into the distance. There was initial confusion, but then he realized the significance of Rena Rouge suddenly appearing in the fight. His eyes went back to where Ladybug was buried, the telltale sign of her yoyo string still sticking out of the ground, tangled up in the tree.

“I gave the illusion some measure of self-determination. Its sole purpose is to draw the akuma away from here, but it won’t last long. We have to hurry!” Rena said to Chat.

Running back to where Ladybug was, he said to Rena, “Help me dig. If he comes back before we get to her, keep him off me while I continue.”

“Got it.”

And so it was that both heroes were frantically digging with their bare hands, desperate to get to their superhero partner and friend before it was too late.

* * *

Ladybug wasn’t sure how long she had been buried. With no light or sound as a reference, time no longer had any real meaning.

She recalled stories she had heard of people who were buried alive, but in the stories she was familiar with, they were usually in a coffin. There was enough air in a coffin to last for a few hours, but she had far less than that. She had no way to calculate just how long she had, but she could tell that the air was already getting pretty thin.

Here she was, only eighteen years old, married for less than a week, and she had found herself buried alive like in some horror film that she always hated.

The most frustrating thing about this whole mess was how _helpless_ she was. There was literally nothing she could do to aid in her rescue. All of the intelligence and creativity that everyone always said she had was worthless when she couldn’t even move.

She could feel herself starting to get lightheaded. This wasn’t good. It meant that time was almost up. It wouldn’t be long before she passed out, and once that happened it wouldn’t be long before the end.

At least it was painless.

Her biggest regret was that she didn’t have a way to leave a message for Chat. She wanted to let him know that she loves him, and didn’t blame him, and that she didn’t want him to blame himself. She knew he tried his best, and it’s not his fault if he didn’t make it in time. The fault lies solely with him who put her in this situation. She did not want her partner, her friend, her husband, her lover to feel guilty for this.

Suddenly, her mind took hold of the one thing she _could_ do. She was embarrassed with herself for not having thought of it earlier. Hopefully, it wasn’t too little, too late. Hopefully, Chat would know what to do with it.

“Lucky charm.”

* * *

Chat Noir and Rena Rouge had only dug up about a half meter of ground. Chat was getting increasingly desperate, for he knew that time was running short and they didn’t know how deep Ladybug was. Rena was doing her best to keep up. Though she didn’t know Ladybug’s identity, she did consider the heroine to be a friend, and she would be damned if she let her friend die like this.

Suddenly there was a flash of red from the tree where the yoyo was entangled. Both of them looked up at it as a red and black spotted shovel fell from the branches, hitting the ground with a clang.

“She summoned her lucky charm!” Chat yelled as he jumped up to grab the shovel. “That means she’s still awake. We have to hurry!”

Just as Chat got back to the hole they were digging with his new shovel, Rena saw some movement in her peripheral vision. Reacting without thinking, she pulled out her flute and swung at the incoming attacker, knocking Gravekeeper to the side an instant before he would have landed on Chat. The villain hissed as he got back to his feet.

“Keep digging, I’ll keep him busy,” Rena said as she positioned herself between the akuma and Chat. Rena’s necklace beeped a warning – she only had a few minutes before she detransformed. If nothing else, that was their time limit to getting Ladybug out. If they hadn’t rescued her by the time Rena took her civilian form again, they wouldn’t be able to.

Chat didn’t need any additional encouragement. He got back to digging with a renewed vigor, only with the tool he now had it was going much faster.

The butterfly mask appeared on Gravekeeper’s face as Rena took a defensive stance.

“Rena Rouge. That illusion must have been your doing. I see you want to join your spotted friend. Give me your miraculous, or you will be buried beside her,” he said as the mask faded.

“If you want to touch my friends again, you’ll have to get through me.”

Gravekeeper wordlessly shouted out as he lunged at Rena. Instead of dodging, she held position and knocked him to the side with her flute. He glared at her and lunged again, met with the same response.

For about the next minute or so, this kept repeating, with Gravekeeper alternating between attacking Rena Rouge directly and simply trying to get around her. Rena refused to give a centimeter, holding firm to give Chat as much time as she could to dig his Lady up. She would stay put all the way until her transformation failed, and she knew that she still wouldn’t give up even then – the stakes were too high, and she _would_ defend Ladybug with her life.

* * *

A cheer erupted in the bakery as Rena Rouge appeared, her illusion leading the villain away. Sabine looked around, startled to see that a crowd had gathered, watching the events unfold on the TV.

Another cheer came when the lucky charm appeared in the tree, and Sabine felt hope build in her heart. She knew that the appearance of the lucky charm meant that Ladybug was still alive, which meant there was still hope that she could be rescued.

The entire crowd watched with rapt attention as Rena Rouge held her ground, protecting Chat Noir as he used the shovel to dig up his Lady.

Sabine felt an immense sense of gratitude to this other hero who was obviously putting herself at great risk to protect Ladybug.

* * *

Ladybug could feel her consciousness slipping. This was it. The end was at hand. She was about to die.

_I know you did your best, Kitty._

Just as she was about to fade into unconsciousness, she suddenly heard a scraping noise, followed by a bright light. She squinted her eyes, not quite comprehending what she was seeing.

_Is this what heaven looks like?_

Blinking her eyes, she saw Chat Noir’s concerned face looking down at her.

“Ladybug!”

Realizing that she was, in fact, not dead, she gasped for breath, grateful for the fresh air entering her lungs. The fogginess in her mind almost immediately cleared as oxygen entered her bloodstream. She reached up and took Chat’s hand, who helped her up and then immediately wrapped his arms around her.

“I was afraid I’d lost you,” Chat said, choking back tears.

“I’m still here, Kitty. I knew you would save me.”

Chat helped Ladybug climb out of the two-meter hole he had dug, and she was greeted by the sight of Rena Rouge holding a defensive stance against Gravekeeper. 

* * *

If the cheering in the bakery was loud earlier, it was absolutely deafening when Ladybug emerged from the hole, hand in hand with Chat Noir.

“Oh, thank you!” Sabine said with tears in her eyes.

Tom hugged her tightly, his own eyes tearing up, though he didn’t say anything.

* * *

“Ladybug! Thank goodness you’re okay!” Rena said, without taking her eyes off the villain as her superhero comrades emerged from the hole. Her necklace sounded a one-minute warning.

“Rena, what … nevermind. Fall back before you detransform,” Ladybug said, initially wondering why Rena was there, as she expertly extricated her yoyo from the tree with a few well-placed tugs at the string. She raised her eyebrows at the shovel. A simple, but effective lucky charm.

“He’s all yours,” Rena said as she withdrew, Ladybug and Chat Noir taking her place in defensive stances of their own.

* * *

It was over less than a minute later, with Ladybug and Chat Noir now knowing what they were up against and not having the distraction of needing to dig someone up while under attack.

After the miraculous ladybugs repaired the damage, including bringing the people who had been buried back to the surface, they made their way back to the bakery. They briefly tried to find Rena Rouge, but she had done a good job of disappearing, herself. They split up and took different routes so that they could lose those who were trying to follow them.

When they arrived back in the bedroom, Ladybug threw her arms around her partner. Now that they were in the privacy of their own home, she finally let out all of the pent up anxiety that she had bottled up from her time underground, not even bothering to detransform. Her whole body was shaking as she held on tight to her partner as if her life depended on it.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“I will _always_ be there for you, My Lady. Claws in.” As his transformation faded, he wrapped his own arms around his wife, gently rubbing her back in a soothing motion in a way that would not have been possible if he still had his claws.

“I know you will. And I will be there for you. Spots off.”

They simply held each other for several minutes before Marinette finally broke the embrace to look at her husband. “Did you go summon Rena, or did she show up on her own?”

“She came on her own,” Adrien admitted. “But before you get angry at her, know that decision probably saved your life. I don’t know if I could have saved you without her help. She saw I needed help and didn’t hesitate to jump in.”

Marinette paused to ponder those words. She had told Rena to hold back unless she sent word, but in this situation it was clear that she was in no position to actually send word. Her help made all the difference when it counted. “Then I owe her my thanks. I guess part of giving someone a miraculous is trusting that they won’t abuse it and will do the right thing. She made the right call.”

“I agree,” Adrien responded, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Without her, I would have lost you.”

“I’m still here, Kitty, and I’m not going anywhere.” Marinette brought her lips to his, grateful that she had not just her partner and husband, but her friends as well who had her back. She was not alone in this struggle.

* * *

“Another close one, Ladybug. I think I know how to beat you, now. It’s only a matter of time.”

Hawk Moth pondered how the latest battle had gone. He was coming to realize that he had been going easy on the heroes. He had been handicapping himself by focusing exclusively on trying to get their miraculous without actually harming them. No more – it was time for his gloves to come off. He would hit them as hard as he could, kill them if he had to. Both Heartcrusher and Gravekeeper hadn’t held back, and they had gotten closer to winning than any others in a long time. After all, a dead body couldn’t stop him from taking their gems.

There was also the troubling development of Rena Rouge suddenly appearing in that fight. If she hadn’t, he would have won today. He was still trying to figure out how that happened; Ladybug never had a chance to leave to give her the miraculous, which could only mean one thing: Rena was now in permanent possession of the fox. This made his job more difficult, but it also made him wonder if Ladybug was getting desperate. In any case, he knew the end was coming soon.

* * *

Nathalie couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling she had as she watched the latest akuma fight on the TV. That was two villains in a row that quite clearly intended to kill the heroes, not just take their miraculous.

Gabriel had changed, and not in a good way, when Adrien left. He had always been somewhat cold to those around him, even those he claimed to love, but this was different. His coldness had turned to ice.

Nathalie wondered what Emilie would think if she knew what was going on, what her husband was doing on her behalf. She had been hired as Gabriel’s personal assistant when Emilie’s health took a turn for the worse, which means she only met the woman a few times before her coma struck. She seemed like a nice woman from what little she remembered. It was likely she used the Peacock miraculous to do good, much like Ladybug and Chat Noir now did with their miraculous. Nathalie seriously doubted that Emilie would be comfortable with the steps her husband was taking to bring her back.

And this was just half of it – she was already hearing whispers from the office that people were discontent with working for a man that would disown his own son simply for trying to be happy. If Gabriel didn’t come to his senses soon, he would find things falling apart on both sides of his identity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The villain was inspired by [buried alive](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26818294) by anonymousling. When I read that one-shot, I knew that it would fit well in the progression of my story, even though at that point my story was just in the planning stages. I adjusted it to match the specific setting (aged up characters, identity reveal, the addition of Rena) and added other POV's.
> 
> Updates going forward will probably be a bit slower. I've now posted as much as I had written when I started posting, and in that time I've completed four more chapters (so I have completed through chapter 11). I want to keep ahead of what's actually posted to give me flexibility to make changes to already written chapters if I feel I need to.
> 
> Random side note - I wasn't originally planning on having Rena get involved. However, I experienced what some authors have described - characters taking a life of their own in their stories. In my mind, Alya basically begged me to let her help. I lack the willpower to say no to Alya.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Marinette was showing Adrien her completed project for Kitty Section when there was a knock at the trap door in her floor. “Yes?” she said, and Sabine poked her head in, a look of concern on her face.

“Oh Marinette,” she said, pausing before coming the rest of the way into the room. “I know you told me not to worry about you, but …” her voice broke as she rushed forward and wrapped her daughter in an embrace. “I was watching the live news footage of today’s akuma fight, and I was so scared.”

“Maman, it was …” Marinette was about to say it was nothing different than she had dealt with many times before, but she just couldn’t bring herself to say it. “Okay, I’m not going to lie, today was terrifying. But I’m okay, thanks to Adrien and Rena.”

Sabine glanced over at Adrien with tears in her eyes. “Thank you for saving her, Adrien.”

Adrien smiled shyly, his hand on the back of his neck. “You’re welcome.”

Sabine broke the embrace and looked at her daughter in the eyes. “And thank Rena Rouge for me the next time you see her.”

Marinette smiled, thinking about Alya, wondering if her mother knew Rena’s identity but just wasn’t saying anything. “Mom, it might be best if you don’t watch the news footage. Scary things happen all the time, and we’ve always come through. I really don’t want you to worry so much.”

“You’re probably right, sweetie, and I wasn’t trying to watch it today, but I just couldn’t take my eyes off of it.” There was another pause before she looked at them both again. “Well, I’ll leave you two be.”

With that, Sabine took her leave and climbed back down out of the trap door. Marinette sat down on the chaise, taking a deep breath. She was now far enough removed from the danger of the fight that she could think about it rationally, without charged emotions getting in the way.

It scared her just how close to dying she had been. Things were going about the same as they had for many fights previously, when suddenly she was hit by an attack that literally had the potential to _kill_ her. It was a startling realization, just how fast things really could turn south.

That thought reminded her of something she pondered while underground. “Tikki, what happens when a miraculous holder dies while transformed?”

Adrien gasped at the question. “Marinette, don’t go thinking you’re going to die. We will win this fight.”

“I didn’t say that I’m going to die, or that you or anyone else will. But it’s a legitimate question, one that as the guardian I think I should know the answer to.”

Tikki looked at her holder, a bit of concern on her face. “It’s not a fun experience. Both your life force and my energy channeled through the miraculous maintain the transformation. When the holder dies while transformed, the transformation forcefully ends.”

“So, hypothetically speaking, if I had died today,” Marinette started, ignoring a gasp from Adrien, “Chat, or whoever, would have found my dead body in my civilian form when they dug me up?”

“That’s correct. And for the kwami, it’s not pleasant. I can feel the moment of death, the life force leaving the holder’s body.”

Marinette paused for a moment, pondering the significance of those words. “It’s happened to you before?”

“Yes,” Tikki admitted. “But I don’t think it will happen to you.”

“You sound remarkably sure of that.”

Tikki paused before continuing. She rarely talked about previous holders. “You are smart, and you are careful. Olivia was … not. She was reckless, and honestly not very intelligent. She kept rushing into danger without thinking things through. I’m not normally one to question the Guardians, but I honestly think they made a poor choice with her. She was always rushing into dangerous situations and barely making it out. I tried to get her to be more careful, but despite numerous close calls, she never learned. Then one day, she got into a situation she couldn’t get herself out of. A situation that was entirely avoidable.”

Marinette looked at her kwami, not quite sure what to say about this revelation. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, and it was a long time ago.”

“Why are you asking this?” Adrien said, concern on his face.

“When I was underground, my thoughts turned rather … morbid. I mean, I was b … buried alive …” She took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. “The thought has since occurred to me how quickly everything can change. We have hope that we will win this fight and live long lives. I know that’s what I want, and what I believe will happen, but the truth of the matter is that it can all end in a moment. One misstep, one lucky strike by a villain, and …”

“My Lady, listen to me. We _will_ win this fight. We’re closer than ever, I can feel it. Hawk Moth will make a misstep of his own and we will be there to exploit it. And then we’ll be able to live in peace, raising our three kids and hamster like you’ve always dreamed.”

“Will it ever really be over, though?” Marinette asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Bunnyx told us about various villains we will defeat in the future. When Hawk Moth is gone, there will be others to take his place. Will we ever really have peace?”

“I suppose we will always have to be ready for whatever may come, but I also know that together we will be able to face it. You and me against the world.”

“As always.” Marinette held out her hand, Adrien meeting it in a fist bump.

* * *

A few hours later, they were on the deck of the _Liberty_. Ezra, whom Adrien had managed to rope into assisting, carried a large chest containing the commission that Marinette had just finished. Luka directed him on where he wanted it placed down in the hold. After Ezra put the chest down with a grunt, Luka opened it up and began inspecting the contents.

“Your work is brilliant as always, Marinette,” he said, earning a blush from her, for Luka was not the first musician to call her work _brilliant._

“You sure you want the band to be seen wearing something created by someone that has been blacklisted by one of the most powerful people in the fashion industry?”

Luka looked at Marinette for a moment before replying. “Anyone that will turn against you because of what _he_ says without actually looking at your work is not someone worth trying to impress. It doesn’t matter who they are.”

“Thanks, Luka.”

“I’ll be wearing this creation of yours with pride, and I’m confident the rest of the band feels the same way.”

Marinette met Luka’s gaze, reminded of the relationship that they had once shared. Luka had been the first person to confess love to her, and she could have seen herself happy with him if the circumstances had been different. If she had never been chosen to hold a miraculous, to become the Guardian. Those responsibilities kept her from being able to give Luka what he deserved in a girlfriend, especially as she got closer to Chat Noir.

In the end, Marinette told him as much, or at least as much as she could while retaining her secret identity. In typical Luka fashion, he was not at all judgmental, and was completely understanding.

“Thanks again, Luka.” Marinette paused before continuing. There was a lot she wanted to tell him, but she wasn’t sure where to start. “I’m sorry I can’t be for you what you wanted. You’ve always been so good to me, and I want you to know it’s appreciated.”

Luka’s expression didn’t change, a soft smile that she knew he reserved for the people he was closest to. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, Marinette. You followed your heart and found happiness. That’s all I ever wanted for you. While I won’t deny that there was a time I was hoping that I would be the one to bring you that happiness, the most important thing to me is that you have it. What you and Adrien have is special, and I would never want to get in the way of it.”

Marinette felt another blush entering her cheeks. “You’re not angry with me?”

“There’s nothing to be angry about. I’m happy for you.”

“You’re a wonderful friend, Luka,” Marinette said as she kissed him on the cheek.

* * *

When Penny called later on, it wasn’t anything overly exciting. Marinette and Penny came to an agreement that they would meet in person the following Friday with Jagged to go over the details and sign a formal contract prior to his concert in Paris on Saturday, where the partnership would be announced. Perhaps the most exciting part of the call was the arrangements that were made for Marinette to pick up four VIP tickets to the concert.

After that, Ladybug got a message from Rena Rouge that she had found something interesting in her search for Hawk Moth. To that end, Ladybug and Chat Noir were just outside Alya’s window, amused at seeing Alya pacing back and forth in her room, waiting for the heroes to arrive. Ladybug knocked on the window like she had the night before, which prompted an immediate reaction out of Alya as she jumped to the window to let them in.

As soon as the heroes were inside, Ladybug threw her arms around Alya. “Thank you, Alya. I might have died today were it not for you.”

Alya was a bit surprised by the sudden show of affection, but she wasn’t complaining. “Don’t thank me, it was Chat Noir who dug you up.”

“You faced Gravekeeper and kept him off of me, Alya. All I did was dig. You deserve as much credit, if not more, than I do,” Chat said.

“I’m just glad you’re not angry with me. I _did_ show up without being asked.”

“That thought did occur to me,” Ladybug said, “but then it occurred to me that when I trusted you with the fox, with Trixx, I trusted you to not abuse it. You didn’t, and you came when you were needed. I don’t want you joining in every fight, and I might still call on you from time to time, but otherwise I trust you to make the call for yourself on whether to jump in.”

“Thanks, Ladybug. Having your trust means a lot to me.”

“And thank you again, for saving my life.”

The two embraced again before Trixx piped up. “You should know, Guardian, that I encouraged Alya to jump in. I could tell Chat Noir was overwhelmed and needed help.”

“Trixx, no throwing yourself under the bus! I made the decision to transform. That’s on me!”

“Both of you, stop,” Ladybug said. “I already said you made the right call. You’re not in trouble.”

“Sorry,” they both said together before glancing at each other and laughing.

Ladybug just shook her head in response. “So, you said you found something interesting in your search for Hawk Moth?”

“Right! Come here.” Alya led them over to her computer, where she had the map of Paris with akumitizations mapped out. “I’ve mapped out every akumitization for which I had location information for where it started. From Stoneheart to Gravekeeper.”

Ladybug looked at the map, and saw immediately what was so interesting about it. “They seem to be concentrated around here.”

“Exactly.” Alya pushed a button on her keyboard, and a circle representing an area about 2 kilometers in diameter appeared. “I’m not as good at statistics as Max, but if I did the calculations right, I’d say there’s a greater than 90 percent chance that Hawk Moth’s lair is within that circle.”

Ladybug sat at the computer, using the mouse to zoom in on that section. “I’ve noticed that akumas seem to favor that part of town, but I never realized just how pronounced it was.”

“I had that same thought as I was putting this map together. My house is just outside the range, but some of my best friends live within it. Marinette, and Adrien, for two.”

Chat Noir looked over Ladybug’s shoulder. “You don’t think either of them could be Hawk Moth?”

“No!” Alya gasped, realizing what she said must have sounded like. “I trust both of them. It’s just a comment on how close to home this all is.”

“I agree that Marinette and Adrien are innocent,” Ladybug said, shaking her head at the absurdity that only her and her partner could see. “I would know if either of them were a supervillain.”

“The Agreste mansion is in the circle,” Chat Noir pointed out. Ladybug could tell there was a certain sadness in his voice. She didn’t claim to understand it, but she knew that he did still have feelings for his father, even as the evidence for the case against him kept building.

“I thought we said Adrien wasn’t a suspect?” Alya said.

“Not Adrien. I’m thinking Gabriel,” Ladybug said.

“Gabriel Agreste,” Alya said, thinking.

“He was a suspect before,” Ladybug said, “but we dropped our investigation into him when he was akumatized. Since then I’ve come to realize he might have done it on purpose to divert suspicion. I started thinking about him as a suspect again due to the way he’s treated his son and daughter-in-law over the last week.”

“I agree that what he’s done to Marinette and Adrien is despicable, but that doesn’t mean he’s a supervillain,” Alya countered.

“Right now he’s just a suspect. What we need is proof.” Ladybug looked at Alya, considering carefully. “Alya, are you willing to investigate him? Keep in mind that even if he’s _not_ Hawk Moth, he’s still a powerful, dangerous man who won’t take kindly to reporters snooping around.”

“I’ll be careful,” Alya responded. “Besides, even if this doesn’t turn up what we’re looking for, I’d still love to find some dirt on him that Marinette can use. I hate the way he’s treated my BFF.”

Ladybug turned her head to try to hide her blush. She was grateful to her friend for having her back, not just in superhero work, but in their civilian lives as well.

“Just don’t use your miraculous for personal reasons. If you find dirt you can use to help Marinette, fine, but your focus needs to be finding out for sure if he is Hawk Moth.”

“I understand. I’m not sure exactly what I’m looking for, but if there’s something to find, I’ll find it.”

“I know you will, Alya. Good luck.”

* * *

As soon as Ladybug and Chat Noir returned home, they detransformed. With the superhero business taken care of for the moment, they turned their attention to their plans to have fun the following weekend. Though it had been only about five minutes since the heroes left Alya’s room, Marinette decided to give her friend a call.

“Hello?” Alya answered, her voice coming through on speakerphone.

“Hi, Alya, how’s it going?”

“It’s going pretty well. Just trying to stay out of trouble, looking for my next big scoop. What about you? How’s married life?”

Marinette blushed, as she still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that she was, in fact, a married woman. Plus, knowing Alya, she was probably wondering about … marital activities, though she won’t ask straight out. “I couldn’t be happier, Alya. Married life is good – you should try it!”

“Hah! Well, I’m not opposed to the idea, but Nino hasn’t gotten off his butt and actually proposed to me, yet. Though, now that you guys have totally come out of left field and beaten us to it, I wouldn’t be surprised if he does soon.”

“Well, if you get tired of waiting, you could always propose to him.”

“Don’t tempt me. I just might.”

Marinette giggled, fully believing that Alya actually would propose to Nino if he dragged his feet on it for too long.

“So,” Alya continued, “how is M. Adrien _Dupain-Cheng?_ You didn’t tell me he was going to take on your last name.”

“We made that decision the morning of the wedding. He asked, and I have nothing against it. Besides, do you blame him?”

“No, I can’t say that I do.”

Adrien took that opportunity to inject himself into the conversation. “M. Adrien Dupain-Cheng is doing quite well, Alya Cesaire, thoroughly enjoying married life with his wife.”

“Adrien! I didn’t realize you were there! At least I didn’t say anything embarrassing… or did I?”

“Not this time, Alya,” Marinette assured her friend. “Though you should probably be aware that Adrien and I aren’t keeping any secrets from each other.”

“Noted.”

“So the reason we called is that we’re wondering if you and Nino would like to go on a double date with us this coming Saturday.”

“We could probably do that. I don’t have any plans, though I’d have to check with Nino. Do you have anything in mind for what we’ll do?”

Marinette grinned before continuing, knowing how Alya would react. “I have four VIP tickets to Jagged Stone’s concert,” she said, as calmly as she could muster.

“What? Girl, you should have opened with that! That concert has been sold out for months! How did you manage to score VIP tickets?”

“A girl has her ways,” Marinette calmly replied. She was going to let Alya learn about the commission at the concert just so she could see her reaction.

“We’ll definitely be there,” Alya said. “If Nino already had plans, he’s changing them.”

That got a laugh out of Adrien. “Hah! If he gives you any pushback, just let me know and I’ll give him a call.”

“Will do, Sunshine,” Alya assured him. There was a brief pause before she continued. “Adrien, you better treat my BFF well. If you break her heart, I swear I will break _you_.”

Both Marinette and Adrien raised their eyes at the threat. “Alya,” Adrien responded in a very serious tone, “you have nothing to worry about. Besides, if I broke Marinette’s heart at this point, I would deserve whatever punishment you would see fit to impose.

There was silence on the line for a few seconds while Alya processed what Adrien said. “You guys are going to make it. You may have gotten married young, but it’s clear that you have a connection that many couples never achieve. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, Alya,” both Adrien and Marinette said simultaneously before breaking out in giggles. “Jynx,” again together. “Jynx again!” The giggles broke out in full blown belly laughs as Marinette booped Adrien on the nose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alya's "threat" to Adrien about what she would do if he broke Marinette's heart was based on a real experience: shortly after I got married, my wife's BFF gave me a similar threat. My response to her was essentially exactly what Adrien said, to which my wife's friend said "That's why you're so good for her." Thirteen years later, we're still happily married. :-)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“Hey Nino, guess what?” Alya asked as soon as he picked up the phone.

“Are you alone?” Nino asked.

 _That_ wasn’t the response she expected. “Um, yea?”

“When were you going to tell me that Ladybug gave you your miraculous to keep?”

This was _not_ what she called him about. How did he figure it out? “What do you mean?”

“Alya, I saw the news footage of the akuma attack from earlier. Ladybug never had a chance to leave to give the miraculous to you, which means you already had it.”

“Oh.” _Crap!_ If Nino figured that out, then Hawk Moth certainly had, too. She’d have to be even more careful, now.

“Oh,” Nino echoed.

“Listen, Nino, it’s only been a couple of days, and it’s not permanent. Ladybug and Chat Noir gave me a long-term assignment, and I’m not sure if I should be talking to you about it. Please don’t be mad.”

“Naw, I’m just messing with you. I was just a bit surprised, is all. I get it.”

“Thanks for understanding,” Alya said, relieved that he wasn’t angry with her.

“Yea, I get the need for secrecy with superhero stuff. So, what’s up?”

“Do I need a reason to call my boyfriend?”

“No, but you did open with ‘guess what?’ Which means you have something to tell me.”

“Touché. So get this: somehow Marinette managed to score VIP tickets to Saturday’s Jagged Stone concert. Her and Adrien invited us to go on a double date. We’re going.”

“Dude, how did she manage that?” Nino was definitely impressed.

“I don’t know. She was all mysterious saying ‘a girl has her ways’ or something like that. I’m not going to question it, though.”

“Knowing her, she probably just called him up and asked.”

“I suppose that’s possible, but it doesn’t really sound much like Marinette. That girl seriously doesn’t know how awesome she is.”

“The best part is that her and Adrien went from ‘just friends’ to married in the blink of an eye, and now our ‘group outings’ have become ‘double dates.’”

“I know what you mean. I still don’t know how they managed to hide their relationship for so long. I mean, we saw them together and they didn’t leave any hints at all, and then when they decided to let it be known, their entire demeanor towards each other suddenly changed. I didn’t know they had it in them to hide it like that.”

“I guess the need to keep it from Gabriel was a strong motivator.”

“True, but I don’t think that’s the entire story. Marinette mentioned ‘other factors’ when I asked her about it, but she refused to elaborate, saying it was a private matter. I promised her I wouldn’t pester her about it, but I still wonder what that means.”

“She’ll tell you when she’s ready, or she won’t. It’s her story to tell.”

“You’re right. I just hope that whatever it is, it doesn’t come back to bite them later on.”

“Whatever it is, I’m sure they have it under control,” Nino said.

“Yea, I’m sure they do. Marinette assures me that they have no secrets from each other, so I have to assume they both have their eyes wide open to whatever factors are in play.”

“Yea, babe, it’s not worth worrying about it. They’ll let us know if they need help. In the mean time, let’s just focus on looking forward to the first _official_ double date!”

“Yea, it’s just funny to think that one of the two couples is married. Does that still make it a date?”

“Of course it does. Any happily married couple will go on dates all the time. You saw the gossip sites, right? They had ice cream and wandered around for hours yesterday. You can’t tell me that wasn’t a date.”

“Oh, it absolutely was! And you’re right, I’m probably getting worked up over nothing. It’s just, she’s my BFF, and I’ve wanted to see them together for so long, I don’t want anything to mess it up.”

“I know what you mean. My man Adrien has had a rough time lately, growing ever more distant with his old man. Even still, he was loyal, trying to earn his father’s approval. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to be cut off, but I know he will be okay because Marinette is so good to him. She always has been, even before they were a couple.”

“They really are meant for each other, aren’t they? You know, I’ve had this thought – there’s this old movie _The Princess Bride_ where they talk about true love, and how only one couple in a century gets to experience it. I don’t know if I really believe it’s that rare, but regardless, I think they have it.”

“I’ve seen that movie, it’s a classic! But yes, they will be fine.”

* * *

“I’m worried I might be overextending myself,” Marinette confided to Adrien.

“What do you mean?”

“This Jagged Stone commission. It’s really big. Not just what it could potentially do for getting my name out there, but the scale of what’s being asked for. I’ve never done anything that big before, and I don’t think I’ll be able to do it all alone. Especially when I’ve still got other commissions coming in through my web site.”

Marinette sat down at her computer and logged in to her website to see if any new commissions had come in. She gasped when she saw that there were several commission requests that she had yet to review. “See what I mean? I can’t possibly keep up with all this!”

Adrien glanced at the screen. “This is a good problem to have. We were worried that Gabriel would sabotage your career and you wouldn’t get anyone. It looks to me like the opposite occurred.”

“True, but I can’t possibly do all of this. I don’t want to be turning down commissions, but there’s no way I could do it all while maintaining quality.”

“Maybe you don’t have to,” Adrien said, a thoughtful look on his face.

“I can either go for quantity or quality. I would rather go for quality, but I don’t want to turn down so many commissions.”

“Alone, that’s probably true. But, maybe it’s time to expand your operation.”

“Expand? How?”

“Open your own design studio. Hire some help. Delegate to that hired help things that you don’t necessarily have to do personally while still making sure the quality is top-notch.”

“Adrien, I don’t have that kind of money to be hiring a bunch of employees.”

“There’s my trust fund.”

“Adrien, no. That’s your money. Besides, we need it to live on.”

“We’re partners, remember? As far as I’m concerned, that money is yours as much as it is mine. It became so when you married me.”

“I don’t know, Adrien. I didn’t marry you for your money.”

“I know, Marinette. That’s part of why I love you – you’re so selfless. But please, let me help you. You are my wife, and I want you to succeed.”

Marinette paused, thinking about it for a few moments. “What if it doesn’t work out? What if this endeavor fails and we lose all that money? We would be in a tough spot, still unable to hold real jobs or attend school, but without the cushion to fall back on. Superhero work is rewarding, but it doesn’t pay the bills!”

Adrien looked at his wife a moment before responding. “One thing I learned in my business training is that no venture is without risk. You’re right, it might fail, and if it does it will make things difficult because we’ll lose all the money we put into it. But I don’t think it will. Now, we could play it safe and just use that money to cover our basic needs, or we can invest it into our future. _Your_ future. I know which I’d rather do.”

It occurred to Marinette that she didn’t know how much money was available. She knew it was a lot, but that didn’t tell her much. “How much money do we have, anyway?”

Adrien shyly put his hand behind his neck. “About €2.5 million.”

Marinette choked, her eyes bulging in their sockets. She was thinking _maybe_ a few hundred thousand at most. “2.5 _million?_ That’s more than my parent’s bakery is worth. By, like, a _lot!_ ”

“Think of it like this: that money could be used to provide gainful employment to people who need it, who otherwise might not have any good opportunities.”

Marinette paused to think about it for a minute. It was way more money than she was expecting, which meant that there was actually a lot more flexibility than she was originally planning on. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would have access to that kind of money, at least not before working for years to build her own brand.

“Adrien, it’s your trust fund. Are you sure this is how you want to use it? I mean, it was set up by your mother – what would she think of you spending it on me?”

“Honestly, I think she would be all for it. It would be a different story if you were just going to waste it on a lavish lifestyle, but I know that you will use it productively, in a way that actually helps people. Don’t underestimate the value of providing people with an honest living.”

Marinette had never really thought about it like that before, but it made sense. There was no denying that she would need extra help if she was to get everything done that had suddenly fallen in her lap, and if she could provide a good living to people for helping her out, that was a good thing. It really did appear that the publicity surrounding their marriage had gotten people’s attention, and she now had more than she could possibly do on her own. Adrien really wanted her to succeed, and was willing to, as the saying went, put his money where his mouth was to see it happen.

Could she really refuse such an offer? Especially knowing that it came from someone who had, on many occasions over the years, risked his life to protect her. She was adamant that she hadn’t married Adrien for his money, but nevertheless the money was there. It would be foolish to turn it down when it was being offered so freely. In many ways, it really was an extension of him being Chat Noir to Ladybug – willing to do whatever it took to be there for his partner.

“I don’t really know anything about running a business. I’m just a designer, not an entrepreneur.”

“One ironic thing about my father wanting me to take over his company is that he provided business training so that I could. Let me handle the business side of things while you handle the creative side.”

“I don’t want to lock you in on that career unless that’s what you want. It’s what your father tried to do to you, and I don’t want to be like him.”

“Marinette, I have no qualms with working for you. You are not like my father at all. The fact that you are thinking of my feelings and needs puts you way ahead of him as far as I’m concerned.”

“I’ve told you before that I want you to find your own dreams, your own passions. Not everything in your life has to revolve around me.”

Adrien’s expression suddenly turned very serious. “My Lady, _please_ let me do this for you. Even before I knew who you were under the mask, I knew I wanted to help you however I could, both in and out of the mask. Now that I know your identity, that desire is much stronger. I want to do this for you.”

Marinette looked at her partner, seeing the look of loving sincerity he was giving her. How could she refuse?

“Okay,” she said quietly, a soft smile on her lips.

* * *

You wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at her, but Nathalie was angry. The request she had just gotten from her employer was making her blood boil. It was bad enough that he had already cast his son out like yesterday’s fashion, but to then go after him with a lawsuit?

Nathalie couldn’t see how this could end any way but poorly. Poorly for the company, poorly for Adrien and Marinette, poorly for Gabriel personally. It really didn’t matter what the final outcome of the lawsuit was, it would end poorly. The bad publicity from Adrien’s public rejection of his father’s control was already having a measurable impact on the company’s bottom line, and then Gabriel’s attempted retribution on Marinette and her reputation certainly didn’t help matters.

Her objections were met with casual dismissal. Gabriel had become so consumed by bitterness that he no longer saw what was right in front of him, how he was risking everything he had worked and fought for. She had once promised to do anything for him, to whatever end, but that was back when he still had some sense of honor. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

She was a professional. She would do her job. She would coordinate with company lawyers to do the boss’s bidding.

That didn’t mean she had to like it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank my wife for beta reading my story for me. She has been reading every chapter as I finish them, and her feedback has been valuable in improving the grammar and flow.

Chapter 10

The next day, Adrien and Marinette got up early, planning on heading to city hall to file papers to formally found Marinette’s new design studio company. They were dressed in what would be considered nice but not formal as they came down to the family living area. Marinette didn’t know why she was nervous, but she was. As she caught sight of her mother, Sabine took one look at the pair and immediately had a look of concern.

“Marinette, dear, is something wrong?”

“Maman … no? Why do you ask?”

“You look … worried.”

“Nothing’s the matter, ma’am,” Adrien said.

“Sabine,” she corrected.

“Nothing’s wrong, Mom. I’m just … nervous.”

“Why are you nervous?”

Why _was_ she nervous? It’s not like they were going to face any danger at city hall. At least she hoped they wouldn’t. Would they? “I … don’t really know. Adrien and I are headed to city hall this morning. We’re going to file paperwork to formally start a new company for my designs.”

Sabine smiled. “That makes sense. It’s a big step, you know. Transitioning from freelance to a formal operation. You’re wondering if you really have it in yourself to do it. Worried about what will happen if you fail, while hoping that you succeed.”

Marinette paused to consider her mother’s words. She hadn’t really thought about it like that. “You know, that’s _exactly_ what it is. How did you know?”

“Marinette, I’ve been _exactly_ where you are now. When your father and I headed to city hall to incorporate the bakery, I was a nervous wreck. I started hyperventilating, and he had to snap me out of it.”

Marinette giggled at the mental image that painted in her mind. “How did he snap you out of it?”

“By giving me a big kiss.” Sabine winked at Adrien.

Marinette’s face turned bright red, while Adrien glanced over at her and grinned.

“It all worked out,” Sabine continued, “and I know it will work out for you as well.”

“Thanks, Maman, that actually makes a lot of sense for why I’m nervous.”

* * *

The last time they entered city hall, it was to get married. Today, it was to start a business. Of course, the paparazzi was already following them around, hushed whispers wondering what was going on.

The couple headed to a different section of city hall than where they went to have their wedding performed, but when they got to the desk they saw a familiar face.

“Mme. Jonas,” Adrien said when he saw the woman. “Good to see you again.”

“M. Agreste. Or, I guess I should say M. Dupain-Cheng,” she said.

“That’s correct.”

“What can I do for you?”

“My wife and I,” Adrien said, gesturing to Marinette, “are here to file papers for incorporation of a new business.”

“I see. What is the name of this new business?”

“Marinette Designs,” Marinette responded proudly. She was already operating under that name, and had dreamed of her design studio having that name since before she knew Adrien.

“Who will be the owner/founder? Given the name, I assume you will?” Mme. Jonas asked, looking at Marinette.

“We’re going to be joint owners. 50/50 share,” Marinette answered without hesitation, looking at Adrien with a smile. Though the whole endeavor was her baby, she wouldn’t have it any other way than to share it with her partner.

“Very well. I’ll be right back with the forms.” She then took her leave.

“Thank you,” Adrien said as soon as Mme. Jonas was out of sight.

“For what?”

“We didn’t discuss the actual ownership arrangement. Thank you for including me.”

“Of course I included you. You’re my partner. You handle the business side, I handle the creative side. Isn’t that what we agreed on?”

“Indeed it is.”

“This thing will fail without both of those parts. I need you in this, as much as Ladybug needs Chat Noir.”

Adrien looked at her with a grin. “You’re saying you would be lost without me?”

“I …” she looked at him, noticing his grin. “Yes, my prince.” She winked. “I wouldn’t be able to do this, any of this, without you.” She brought her lips up to his in a soft, sweet kiss. She didn’t notice or care about the paparazzi taking pictures of them from a distance. What did finally catch her attention, however, was when Mme. Jonas cleared her throat.

Marinette and Adrien immediately broke the kiss, their faces turning pink as they turned to look at the clerk. “Sorry,” they both said simultaneously.

Mme. Jonas simply shook her head, laughing softly. “You two are made for each other.” She handed Adrien some papers. “Fill out these forms and bring them back to me when you’re finished.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Adrien said as he took the paperwork.

The paperwork was simpler than they expected. It was just the name of the business, type of business, who the owners were, and a mailing address (which they filed to be the bakery’s address for now). That meant that it only took a couple of minutes before they were ready to hand it back.

“Thank you,” she said as they did so, along with some cash to pay the requisite fee. “Give me a moment and I’ll have the relevant forms to prove incorporation.

As she went back into the back room, Marinette turned to Adrien and said, “She’s the same clerk that was there for our wedding. The second clerk, not the first. Right?”

“Yes, that’s her. She was actually quite helpful in getting things set up for that day.”

“I didn’t like the first lady, but she was nice.”

Mme. Jonas wasn’t kidding when she said she only needed a moment, because she came back to the desk at that moment. “Here’s the relevant forms that you need to prove incorporation. With these, you can open a business bank account, hire employees, and so forth. Good luck in your endeavors,” she said with a smile.

Before heading back to the bakery, they stopped by a bank to open a business account. They settled on an amount of €100,000 to get started with, funded from the trust fund. They figured this was enough to secure some office space, purchase some equipment, and meet the first few paychecks of their first employees. They could always bring more over later if they needed to.

When they approached the bakery, they both felt some apprehension as they realized that a police car was parked in front of it. Upon entering, they saw Officer Roger Raincomprix speaking with Sabine. They both turned to the couple as they entered.

“What’s going on?” Marinette asked.

“Adrien and Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” he asked, and the couple nodded. “It is my duty to inform you that you have been named as defendants in a lawsuit,” he said as he handed the couple some papers.

“What?” Marinette asked, startled. “Who is suing us?”

“M. Gabriel Agreste. Something about breach of contract. The details are in the papers I just handed you.”

“Breach of contract?” Adrien answered, flabbergasted. “I haven’t breached any contract!”

Roger’s formal demeanor softened, and then in a lower voice said, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I think he’s full of it. You’ll definitely want to respond to it, though, so he doesn’t get a default judgement. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize, Officer,” Marinette said. “You’re just doing your job. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”

Roger nodded his head. “Ma’am. Sir.” He then took his leave and left out the front door.

“Just when I thought he couldn’t go any lower!” Adrien wailed.

“Shhh, Adrien, it’s okay,” Marinette responded in a soothing voice. “We don’t want you to get akumatized. We’ll handle this together, like we always do.”

Adrien took a deep breath, visibly calming down. “You’re right. Let’s go upstairs and read through these papers to see what he’s accusing us of.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Sabine said, a look of worry on her face.

“Can you bring us some lunch? We’re both kind of hungry,” Marinette responded.

“Of course. I’ll have it to you in a few minutes.”

* * *

A few minutes later, they had settled in the bedroom, nibbling on some sandwiches and pastries, though they didn’t have much of an appetite. Adrien was reading through the lawsuit papers while Marinette paced in a circle in the limited space.

“The lawsuit features three claims,” Adrien said. “First is an allegation of fraudulently gaining access to the trust fund. The second is a claim of violation of a non-compete clause in my contract. The third is a charge of slander for statements we made during our press conference.”

“That’s insane! We didn’t do anything wrong,” Marinette said. “He’s not going to be able to get the trust fund, is he?” While their marriage had become about much more, the whole reason they started considering getting married in the first place was for the trust fund. It was how they were planning on making ends meet while they continued to deal with Hawk Moth. It was why Adrien had the courage to get away from his father and that abusive relationship. Were it not for the trust fund, he would still be living in fear and uncertainty, they would still be oblivious to each others’ identities, and the significant progress they had made over the previous week wouldn’t have happened.

“I don’t think so,” Adrien responded. “I’m also pretty sure the other two claims are also baseless, but we’re going to need a lawyer.”

“If he manages to block our access to the trust fund, I don’t know what we’ll do. We _need_ that money!”

“I don’t think he’ll be able to. The terms of the trust are pretty clear that it was mine upon marriage. But just in case, we should probably hold off on spending any more of it until we get that affirmed by the court.” Adrien looked up at Marinette. When their eyes met, she could see that there was worry in his eyes. After a moment, it clicked for her – he was worried that she might leave him. For him, the trust fund was about security. Given that it was what he had to offer her that prompted the discussion about marriage in the first place, combined with his overall insecurity, she could see why this would concern him.

“Adrien, we’re together on this. I’m with you through thick and thin. I _didn’t_ marry you for your money, I married you so we could be together. I’m _with_ you, one hundred percent, no matter what happens. Yes, the trust fund is a big deal, but it’s not everything. I’m not so shallow that I would let a little money break us. You, me, us,” she said, pointing to him, then herself, “that’s what’s important. I love you. I’m not going to let your father separate us, no matter what he manages to pull off legally.”

Adrien looked at his wife for a few seconds, and then suddenly wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you,” he whispered into her ear. “I love you, too.”

They held each other for nearly a minute before finally releasing the embrace. “No matter how the lawsuit turns out, he can’t touch Marinette Designs. That’s our thing,” Adrien said.

Marinette was grateful for that. She realized that the lawsuit wasn’t the end of the world, that even in the worst case scenario, she’d still be able to build up her design studio. It would simply take longer.

“I think I’m going to sign the contract with Jagged Stone as an officer of the company – it will be the business’s first official project. Payment received for it will go to the company account rather than our personal bank accounts,” Marinette said.

“I was actually going to suggest that. After all, that was the impetus to officially incorporate.”

Marinette smiled, glad they were on the same page. “How about you see if you can find us a lawyer while I go through these new commissions.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

* * *

A couple of hours later, Marinette had gone through the wave of commission requests that had come in through her website, making preliminary sketches for each one. She was hesitant to accept any of them until they were sure they could hire extra help, which meant they needed to be sure they could tap into the trust fund money. This meant that dealing with the lawsuit, or at least the first claim, was of utmost priority.

Adrien, meanwhile, had found a lawyer to take the case and sent her relevant documents. They set an appointment to meet with her the following day.

The rest of the day went relatively uneventfully. Adrien and Marinette joined Tom and Sabine for dinner, and while the latter couple wanted to know what was happening with the lawsuit, the former simply said they were talking to a lawyer the next day to deal with it, and preferred it remain at that for now. After that it was playing some Ultimate Mecha Strike as a family, Marinette taking most of the victories but with the two boys holding their own. They were able to spend some time forgetting about their problems and challenges they faced. Challenges with Hawk Moth, Gabriel, getting a new company off the ground, paparazzi, and whatever else were pushed aside to simply enjoy the evening.

* * *

The next day was another early day. Adrien was up first, and had to gently coax Marinette out of bed with reminders that they needed to meet with the lawyer and they didn’t want to be late. The lawyer’s office was a few kilometers from the bakery, so the couple took the subway to get there. They didn’t spot any paparazzi, but a few people definitely recognized them. When they arrived in the attorney’s office, they were greeted by a middle-aged woman.

“Good morning,” she said. “You must be Adrien and Marinette Dupain-Cheng. My name is Cecilia.”

“Good morning, Cecilia,” Adrien said as they exchanged handshakes. “We’re hoping you can help us.”

“Yes, I reviewed the documents you sent me. Have a seat, let’s go over the lawsuit and discuss options.”

“The first thing I want to get across is regarding the trust fund,” Adrien said, wanting to be up front. He had very little money if he lost the trust, and there’s no way he’d be able to afford the woman’s retainer. “If we lose access to it, we won’t be able to pay you. I just want to be up front about that.”

“Ok, we’ll address that first,” Cecilia responded, gesturing for the couple to take a seat. “The terms of the trust fund are simple and clear. You gain access to it when you turn 25 or when you get married. I verified the document you sent that says you’re married, so I can say with 100% certainty that the lawsuit’s first claim is completely bogus. The trust fund is yours. I’m confident a judge will grant a summary judgement in your favor on that point.”

Marinette and Adrien both breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing those words.

“No offense,” Cecilia continued, “but I don’t think I would have taken this case if that weren’t true.”

“None taken,” Marinette said. “What about the other two claims?”

“The claim regarding slander isn’t quite as weak as the claim about the trust fund, but I’m still confident that we’ll prevail. I reviewed the press conference in question. In truth, I actually saw it live when you first presented it. You were careful on how you worded things, and there wasn’t anything you said that can’t be defended as actual fact or simple opinion. We might not be able to get a summary judgement on it, but I’m still confident in a positive outcome.”

“That’s good,” Adrien said. So far, the news had been all positive. “What about the non-compete?”

“Overall, the law is on your side, but you might have to make some concessions. French law requires that non-competes be limited in scope in that they can only be directly related to your specific job. My understanding is that your employment with Gabriel was as a model?” Cecilia paused, waiting for a response from Adrien, who nodded in the affirmative. “That means that under the non-compete, you can’t model for anyone else, but there’s nothing stopping you from taking any other employment with anyone else, including direct competitors. Additionally, the law requires that you be compensated for the non-compete at a rate of thirty to fifty percent of your employed salary for as long as the non-compete is in place.”

“I can live with that,” Adrien said. “It means I won’t be able to model for you, Princess, but if that’s all I have to agree to, I won’t complain.” He had been looking forward to modeling some of his Lady’s designs, but not at the cost of a breach of contract. Besides, it sounded like the non-compete wouldn’t be around forever – the fact that Gabriel would have to pay to maintain it would see to that.

“I agree,” Marinette added. “While I don’t really want his money, if the requirement is that he pay you to maintain the non-compete, then I say we insist on it.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Adrien answered.

“Here’s what I propose, based on what you just said,” Marinette said, turning to Cecilia. “I propose we offer the modeling non-compete with fifty percent of Adrien’s salary, which Gabriel can keep in place as long as he’s willing to continue paying, but he drops the other two claims. If he doesn’t, we countersue for slander for the press release he did the morning of our press conference.”

“I was actually going to suggest that,” Cecilia said. “I’m not sure there’s anything in his press release that he can’t defend as opinion, but your position is stronger than his and the threat of a countersuit might make him reconsider whether he wants to pursue this action.”

“What do you think about that, Adrien?” Marinette said, turning to her husband. “I feel like you’re the one that should be making the decision on how to proceed.”

Adrien was grateful to his wife for seeking his input, but he was fully willing to follow her lead. “You’re better at this sort of strategic thinking than I am, so I trust your judgement,” Adrien responded.

Marinette looked at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. She had always been the leader between the two of them, from the time she first took charge during Stoneheart. She always said he was an equal partner, but he had always struggled to live up to that expectation. He felt like he was inadequate, and it was only a matter of time before she would see that as well. Yet, she always insisted that she needed him, that she couldn’t be Ladybug without him. He didn’t understand it, but he loved her all the more for her it. He was content to let her take the lead on this matter, just as she took the lead in the battlefield.

“We’re partners, Adrien. In this and in everything else. We face it together,” she said.

“You and me against the world. Let’s do it,” Adrien said.

Marinette turned back to Cecilia. “That’s our plan. Honestly, I would prefer that the whole thing be dropped, neither of us owing the other anything, but if he wants a fight, we’ll bring on a fight.”

“Very well,” Cecilia said with a nod. “I will contact the Gabriel Fashions lawyers and let them know your position. I’ll let you know how they respond.”

* * *

“M. Agreste?” Nathalie said as she knocked on his office door. She had just gotten off the phone with the company lawyers and needed to report to her boss what they had told her.

She wasn’t looking forward to it.

“Yes, Nathalie?”

Entering his office, she took a deep breath before continuing. “I just heard from the lawyers regarding your lawsuit against Adrien and Marinette.”

“Go on,” he said.

“They have procured legal council and responded to the lawsuit through that council.”

“As they should. What is the response?” Gabriel’s voice was as dispassionate as ever.

Nathalie gulped before continuing. She knew that her boss should accept the settlement, but doubted he would. “They acknowledge the non-compete in regards to modeling, but not any other employment, and insist on 50% of Adrien’s salary to be paid for as long as you want it to remain in force. They reject the other two claims, and say that if we wish to continue pursuing them that they will countersue for the press release you made regarding Marinette.”

“That’s not good enough. Tell legal that I expect Adrien’s claim to the trust fund to be nullified. I don’t really care about the other claims; that’s the one that is most important.”

Nathalie stared at her boss for a second. Did he really think that was going to happen? The terms of the trust fund were among the most clear legalese she had ever seen. Adrien was married, which means that there was no option to prevent him from getting it.

“Our lawyers strongly encourage you to accept their offer, sir. They say that we will not win on the trust fund point no matter how it’s presented, that our slander case is extremely weak and not likely to go anywhere, and that their response to the non-compete point is exactly what they are entitled to under law. They may have a good case for slander against us, so we should be trying to avoid them bringing that forward. The word is that Adrien and Marinette would prefer the whole matter be dropped, neither side owing the other anything.”

“Except the trust fund. Nathalie, that was Emilie’s money. I won’t have Adrien squandering it on that leech. Tell legal to do as I ask, or I will find someone else who will.”

Nathalie narrowed her eyes. “Yes, sir.”

There were days when she hated her job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took longer than most because I wound up re-writing significant chunks of it. For example, the meeting with the lawyer was originally written from Marinette's POV, and while I didn't change anything that actually happened, I felt that showing it from Adrien's POV suited the story and where I want it to go from here fit better.
> 
> That said, I have 13 completed chapters, with good progress on 14 (chapter 14 features a complex akuma fight that has a lot of moving parts, and it's taken me a while to get it right). I don't want to leave you guys hanging for too long, so I decided to go ahead and post 10.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Marinette and Adrien were disappointed, but not surprised at how Gabriel responded to their response. A court appearance was scheduled for the following week where preliminary arguments would be presented to a judge. Cecilia made it clear that cases like this take a while to resolve, and it would likely be months before a final resolution was reached. That said, she was confident enough on the trust fund point that they were clear to go ahead and use the money as they saw fit.

Cecilia also encouraged Adrien to go ahead and attend the remaining photoshoots on his contract. While it was likely that a breach there wouldn’t have any real consequences other than loss of pay, there was no reason to give them extra ammo in their lawsuit. To that end, over the next several days, there were two more photoshoots that Adrien attended, at which he gave his best effort. He wouldn’t let a little detail like a lawsuit from his employer affect his work. If nothing else, he wanted to show his father that he wasn’t the one causing the problems.

Marinette, meanwhile, began work on some of the other commissions that she had received. Some of them were simple; things like a design for a t-shirt for a birthday party which she was able to knock out in a couple of hours. On the other extreme, it was a young woman, not much younger than Marinette was, who was commissioning a prom dress. Marinette, being the stickler for quality that she was, put every bit of care into it as if it were her own dress. It would take time to get it just right, but that was okay – the commission came early enough that there wasn’t a rush.

Adrien started receiving calls from some of his former comrades who worked at Gabriel. He learned that there was a mass exodus happening at the company of people who were taking exception to certain decisions that had recently come down from the boss. Mostly it was people who were looking for a reference, which Adrien was more than happy to provide.

At some point, word of the lawsuit somehow leaked to the media. Marinette found this out when Nadja called her, saying that she was running a story on it and asked if Marinette had any comment. Her only response was to confirm that yes, her and Adrien were being sued, but she didn’t want to say anything due to the pending legal action.

When Nadja’s story aired, she framed it as a jealous father who tried to control his son’s life for his own gain only to have it backfire, now trying to take it out on the talented young woman who he saw as an up and coming rival who stole his son away. Marinette blushed as she watched it, for the news story featured pictures and videos of her and Adrien together, both since their marriage and going back as far as the infamous “pajama girl” incident of years earlier. The story pretty clearly painted a picture of a young couple in love.

They weren’t idle in superheroing, either. Two separate akuma fights happened over those days. Neither were particularly difficult, but there was something about both of them that had Ladybug on edge – they both actually went for the kill instead of just trying to subdue the heroes to get the miraculous. She couldn’t help but feel that this was a deliberate change in Hawk Moth’s approach. Their enemy now wanted them dead, not just defeated.

Ladybug wasn’t the only one to pick up on this, either. On Friday morning, an article appeared on the Ladyblog in which Alya analyzed the tactics used by the last four akumas – she, too, came to the conclusion that Hawk Moth was being more aggressive in his tactics, and that the heroes needed to be careful. Her speculation was that something had happened in his civilian life that set him off, and he was growing impatient with lack of progress in his villainy.

The comments on that article were mixed. Some people dismissed it, saying it was just the way things appeared but there wasn’t anything to it. Others acknowledged that there might be something to it, and offered well-wishes to the heroes that they would be okay in this change. Ladybug, for her part, wondered if Alya might have written that article as part of her investigation into Hawk Moth’s identity – maybe as a way to try to draw out a hint or something else she could use.

Once that article came out, other news outlets latched on to it, broadcasting headlines like _Hawk Moth Going Crazy?_ and _Ladybug and Chat Noir’s lives may be in serious danger._ These headlines did not help Marinette’s state of mind at all. She had been under constant stress from her Ladybug duties since she was thirteen years old, and now had real adult responsibilities (including defending a baseless lawsuit) thrown on top of that. She did not need the very visible and constant reminders that a supervillain wanted her dead.

Adrien was also feeling the effects of the stress. He was always trying to lighten the mood and take the pressure off Marinette in any way he could, but she could tell that it was taking a toll on him as well. They really needed to bring the fight to Hawk Moth as quickly as they could – she did not know how much longer she could take the pressure. That said, she was immensely grateful that she had her Kitty to talk to, to share the burden with. Now that they had been married, with their identities revealed to each other for over a week, she came to wonder how she had ever managed without having him to share her whole life, not just the superhero side. He was her partner in every sense of the word.

Tom and Sabine, meanwhile, didn’t say anything, but Marinette could tell that they were worried. Especially when Nadja showed up on the TV in the bakery talking about how Ladybug and Chat Noir were in the crosshairs of potentially lethal attacks on a regular basis.

Alya, to her credit, contacted Ladybug a few hours after posting the article, apologizing because she had no idea it would go viral the way it did. She offered to take the article down, but Ladybug insisted that it stay up. She wanted people to know what kind of monster they were dealing with.

In the end, though, Marinette found herself looking forward to the meeting with Jagged Stone, where they would formalize the commission and actually sign a contract. To that end, they were entering _Le Grand Paris_ Hotel, where Jagged Stone was staying for the weekend. As they entered the lobby, they caught sight of a familiar blonde manning the front counter.

“Adrikins!” she yelled as she ran forward, throwing her arms around him. Marinette could tell from Adrien’s body language that he wasn’t comfortable and was about to step in when he gently pushed the blonde away to arm’s length.

“Hello, Chloe,” he said, simply.

“I heard you got married to that … _baker_ girl,” Chloe said, deliberately ignoring that Marinette was present. “If you were trying to get away from your father, you could have come to _me!”_ Marinette was more annoyed than upset at Chloe’s antics.

“Chloe, you and I may have known each other for longer, but _she’s_ the one I want to be married to,” Adrien responded. Marinette felt her heart flutter at his loyalty.

“But she’s just …” Chloe began.

“Think carefully about your next words,” Adrien interrupted, an edge to his voice. “You’re talking about my wife.”

Chloe looked over at Marinette, finally acknowledging her presence before turning back to Adrien. “Does she make you happy?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Then, turning to Marinette, she added, “Treat him well, Dupain-Cheng, or you will have to answer to _me.”_

“I intend to,” was all Marinette said in response.

“So, what brings you here? Not that visiting _moi_ isn’t reason enough,” Chloe said, with as much arrogance as she ever had. Marinette simply rolled her eyes.

“We’re here to visit Jagged Stone. He’s expecting us,” Marinette responded.

“I’ll have to verify that before I can let you through. He is, after all, one of our more high-profile clients, and I can’t just let anyone through to see him,” Chloe said, her attitude turning more professional.

“Give him a call. He’ll confirm,” Adrien said.

Chloe gave a slight _hmph_ as she went back around behind the counter, looking up some info on her computer. She then picked up the desk phone and dialed Jagged’s room.

“Hello M. Stone, this is the front desk. There are two people here to see you; they say you’re expecting them.” She paused for a moment, then continued, “Yes, it’s Adrien and Marinette. … All right, sir, I’ll send them right up.” Then, after hanging up the phone, “He’s in room 426.”

“Thank you, Chloe,” Marinette said as she made a show of taking Adrien’s hand in hers as they headed towards the elevator.

“Utterly ridiculous,” Marinette heard her old rival mutter under her breath, causing Marinette to giggle.

Once they were in the elevator, Adrien leaned over to his wife. “You enjoyed showing off to her, didn’t you?”

“Me, show off to Chloe?” Marinette said in faux indignation. “Ok, yea, maybe a little.”

* * *

Adrien marveled as he watched his wife discuss the creative details of the commission with the famous rock star. It was obvious that they were both talented artists who were passionate about their work, and it showed in the way they discussed the collaboration. It made his heart swell that such a talented, creative woman would actually _want_ to be with him, wondering (not for the first time) what someone so amazing actually saw in him. 

Marinette showed Jagged the sketches she had made over the past week, tweaking them based on his feedback. After about an hour, they had a solid plan for the approach they would take for the overall design. The designs featured subtle nods to both American and Parisian superheroes, and took advantage of the fact that the US, French, and British flags all have the same colors. Adrien, for his part, mostly kept quiet, as this definitely fell under the _creative_ side of their partnership rather than the _business_ side.

It was when it came time to discuss the payment terms for the contract that Adrien entered the discussion. Just as Adrien let Marinette take the lead in the creative discussion, she sat back and let him handle the business side.

Jagged was willing to pay more than they had expected, which made coming to a business agreement come easily. Within the next 15 minutes, they had a payment schedule, due dates for deliverables, and other aspects of the contract hashed out, ready to sign.

“This is a big moment for us,” Adrien admitted as they gave the contract one final look over. “We formally incorporated a new business just a few days ago, and this represents our first major contract.”

“Well, here’s to hoping you’ll have many big contracts to come,” Jagged said. “You two are behaving like you’ve been doing this for years. It’s like you’re made for each other!”

“Well, Adrien and I do make a good team,” Marinette said.

Jagged laughed, “Yes, you do. And I am totally excited to be a part of getting your career off the ground. You’re going to go far.”

“Thanks, Jagged. You have no idea how much this means to me, the faith you’ve put in me. I won’t let you down,” Marinette said.

“I know you won’t,” Jagged said. “So, we still on to announce this at the concert tomorrow?”

“Sounds good to me. Our friends Alya and Nino will be with us, but they don’t know about the contract yet,” Marinette responded. “I kinda want them to find out when it’s announced, just to see their reactions,” Marinette shyly smiled.

“I like it. I won’t spoil it for you,” Jagged said with a twinkle in his eye. Then, gesturing to the contract on the table, he said “Shall we?”

Marinette glanced over at Adrien. “I think we’ve covered all the bases,” he said. “Let’s do it!”

Marinette grabbed the pen and signed her name to the paper, followed by Adrien (who remembered to sign his married name), and finally Jagged. “I’m feeling much better about my tour, knowing you’re involved,” he said as he signed his name.

Marinette shyly smiled in response.

* * *

The next day went relatively uneventfully, as Adrien and Marinette spent time looking at various office and retail locations available for rent to set up shop for _Marinette Designs_. Nothing felt quite right to them yet, so they hadn’t actually committed to anything. Marinette was worried that their appearance at the concert would be interrupted by an akuma, but she had long learned to not let those fears drive her. If an attack happened, they would deal with it. If not, she wouldn’t let the possibility of an attack diminish her fun.

Marinette, Adrien, Nino, and Alya decided that they would meet at Alya’s house and travel to the stadium from there for the concert. As expected, Nino was already there when Marinette and Adrien arrived.

“Dude! Long time no see!” Nino said as Alya opened the door.

“Nino! How’s it going, bud!” Adrien responded as the two briefly embraced.

“Not bad, not bad at all. I’m just glad to see you’re fine.”

“What do you mean?”

“Last time I saw you, Marinette’s Dad looked like he wanted to murder you,” Nino said.

“Naw, Tom’s a big teddy bear,” Adrien responded. “I think he was mostly upset that we went behind their back, not that we actually got married. He’s totally on board with it now.”

“Why did you go behind everyone’s back?” Nino asked. “I mean, not that you have to answer, but that’s the question that’s been on everyone’s mind. You could have at least told your family and close friends.”

Adrien looked at Marinette, and an understanding passed between them. “Circumstances being what they were, secrecy was of utmost importance. Besides,” Adrien grinned, winking at his wife, “I didn’t know who I was marrying until that morning.”

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?” Alya asked, exasperated.

“Dork,” Marinette said, gently punching Adrien in the arm. Then, turning to Alya, she added, “Inside joke. You wouldn’t get it.”

“I just don’t know what to make of you two,” Alya said, annoyed. “I mean, it’s obvious that you’re happy together, but I just can’t figure you out!”

“Don’t even try, babe,” Nino said. “There’s a side to Adrien that he rarely shows anyone, and it looks like he’s corrupted poor, innocent Marinette.”

Marinette gave Nino a deadpan look. “I’m not as innocent as I look, Nino.”

Nino looked Marinette up and down, sizing her up. “Yea, I suppose that’s true.”

Adrien brought his arm around Marinette’s waist, both still facing Nino, Adrien’s face a serious expression. “Hey, man,” he said, “are you flirting with my wife?”

Nino’s eyes went wide as he blushed. “What? No! I didn’t … I mean …”

Adrien laughed. “Relax, man, I’m just messing with you. Besides, she really is quite the catch, don’cha think?”

Suddenly it was Marinette who was blushing.

“It’s just weird, you know?” Nino said, shaking his head. “Suddenly my best bud is married, and his wife is a friend I’ve known for years. I’m still not used to it, and I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to behave around you two.”

“Don’t behave any different than you usually do, Nino,” Marinette said. “It’s still us.”

“That would be easier if you two still behaved the way you used to,” Alya said. “But it’s pretty clear to those of us that know you that your behavior changed, especially towards each other.”

“Let’s stop stressing about our relationship status and go have a good time,” Marinette said, slightly annoyed.

“I’m with my wife. Jagged Stone is waiting for us.”

“Which reminds me,” Alya said, “how _did_ you manage VIP tickets?”

“I told you,” Marinette responded simply. “A girl has her ways.”

“Uh huh,” Alya said, obviously not convinced. “Well, if Jagged Stone is expecting us, we best not keep him waiting.”

“As you wish,” Nino said, winking at Alya.

* * *

Jagged Stone actually was waiting for them. As soon as they came to the back stage area through the performers entrance, he was right there to greet the quartet.

“Marinette, my girl! Good to see you again. Hello Adrien. Who are your friends?” Jagged was full of energy as he looked over at the couple’s companions.

“Hello Jagged!” Marinette said. “These are my friends Nino Lahiffe and Alya Césaire.”

“Alya Césaire? The Ladyblogger?” Jagged said, his eyes wide.

“Um, yea, that’s me.”

“I love your blog! It’s so rocking, it’s like, the best source of info on Ladybug!”

Alya took this praise in stride. “Well thank you! I take it you’re a Ladybug fan?”

“Of course I am. I mean, who isn’t?”

Marinette felt herself blushing despite herself as Alya continued. “Most people are, though Marinette here seems to have a thing for Chat Noir. Sorry, Adrien, no offense.”

Adrien smiled. “None taken.”

Marinette, meanwhile, was blushing deep red. “What can I say? I mean, Ladybug is awesome, but she couldn’t do half what she does without her partner.”

Adrien gasped in mock indignation. “Princess, should I be jealous?”

Marinette poked him in the ribs. “Dork. You know you’re the one for me. Besides, he’s only got eyes for Ladybug.”

“That’s true,” Adrien said.

Alya and Nino both looked back and forth between Adrien and Marinette, matching expressions of amusement while shaking their heads.

“Well, as it just so happens,” Jagged said, “I’m planning on dedicating my concert tonight to Ladybug. She’s saved my life more than once, so that was the least I could do.”

Marinette was grateful that nobody was paying attention to her at that moment, because her blush came back ten-fold. Well, nobody but Adrien, who looked at her at the mention of her alter-ego.

“Oh, that’s great!” Alya said, excited. “Do you mind if I post about it on the Ladyblog?”

“Not at all. I wouldn’t mind the publicity.”

“I think you should include Chat Noir in your dedication,” Marinette said. “They are partners, a team. Ladybug would want him to be included.”

“I agree,” Alya said. “Marinette’s crush on the cat aside, Ladybug herself has always been clear how much she depends on her partner. It doesn’t seem right to honor one without the other.”

Marinette was grateful to her friend for sticking up for her partner, even if she couldn’t say it like that. She glanced over at Adrien, who she could tell was shyly embarrassed at the praise they were putting on his alter-ego.

“Well, you guys know them better than I do,” Jagged responded, “so you’ve convinced me. Tonight’s concert is dedicated to Ladybug and Chat Noir. Paris’ resident superhero duo! Too bad they won’t be able to be here.”

“You never know,” Marinette said, smiling. “They might be here in their civilian form.”

“Well, there are 50,000 people in the stadium, so it’s certainly possible.”

Marinette and Adrien glanced at each other knowingly.

* * *

The quartet were given seats in the front row, much to Nino’s excitement, as it allowed him to see up close how things came together to make the concert work. It was one thing to DJ with pre-recorded music – it was another thing entirely to put on a production of a live performance.

Jagged came on to the stage singing, with thousands of screaming fans shouting his name. Much to Marinette’s surprise, it was a brand new song about the superheroes, with footage of them showing on a big screen in the back of the stage. It was obviously a current video, as it finished with the footage from the news helicopter of Chat Noir helping Ladybug out of the ground during the Gravekeeper fight.

After the song concluded, he addressed the crowd. “Hello Paris! I want to dedicate this concert to your very own superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir!”

The crowd cheered again, just as loudly as they had before. Marinette felt a sense of shock as she realized the crowd was cheering for _her._ Sure, she had been doing superhero work for over four years at this point, and she knew the public loved her and her partner, but to see it manifest in such a way was a bit overwhelming. She looked over at Adrien, and she could tell from his expression that he was having similar thoughts.

“Ladybug, Chat Noir,” Jagged continued, “if you happen to be here in your civilian form, I just want to let you know that I appreciate what you do. I know lots of others do as well. Keep up the rockin!”

Marinette smiled at the accolade as she took Adrien’s hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze to which he responded in kind. They couldn’t respond directly to Jagged’s words, but they could acknowledge it to each other.

“I’m totally going to post about that on the Ladyblog,” Alya said, leaning to Marinette. “Ladybug and Chat Noir deserve to know how Jagged Stone is honoring them to a stadium full of people.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Marinette responded.

Jagged and his band then started up another song. This one Marinette recognized – it was from the album that she designed the cover for years earlier. When she noticed many in the audience starting to sing along, she couldn’t help but do the same.

When the song finished, Jagged addressed the crowd again. “As many of you know, I’m in the planning stages for a tour to North America. Just this week, I hired one of Paris’ own to head up the visual design for that tour. She has done design work for me in the past, and has absolutely knocked it out of the park every time. I can’t wait to see her work in production. Let’s hear it for my friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

Jagged reached down and helped Marinette up on to the stage. She shyly waved to the crowd as they cheered for her. _They’re cheering for me in both my identities,_ Marinette realized with a start. She glanced down at her friends, and couldn’t help but laugh at Alya’s shocked expression. Nino was simply smiling and shaking his head, while Adrien was looking at her with love-smitten eyes. _Now you know how I got those VIP tickets, Alya._

How was this her life? She was just Marinette, a normal girl. A normal girl that had a stadium full of 50,000 people cheering for her. It didn’t make sense.

But it was nice. She absolutely would do her best work for Jagged to make sure she lived up to the trust and faith that he was putting in her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Marinette, you haven't been leading a normal life or been a normal girl for years now.
> 
> In any case, things are about to go down. *grins*


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The following Monday, they had to be up bright and early again, for it was the date of their first court hearing for the lawsuit. Marinette lamented that she couldn’t just sleep in, feeling that if this was what it meant to be an adult, maybe she should go back to being a minor again. Then she remembered that if she was still a minor, she wouldn’t be married to Adrien. Maybe the downsides of adulting were worth it to have the upsides.

As they entered the family living area, Sabine looked up at them. “Up so early?” she asked.

“We have our first court appearance today for the lawsuit,” Marinette said. “Don’t want to be late to that.”

“That’s today?” Sabine was a little surprised.

“Yes, and with a little luck it will be the only court appearance,” Adrien said.

Sabine paused for a moment before continuing. “Forgive me for worrying, but lawsuits can be scary. Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” Marinette said. “It’s not as scary as facing down akumas several times a week. Our position is actually pretty strong, so it will be fine.”

“That’s good to hear. Let me know how it goes, okay?”

“We will. Thanks, Maman.”

* * *

When they arrived at the courthouse, Cecilia greeted them at the entrance to the courtroom before going in.

“The media has taken interest in this case, but don’t let that distract you. Keep your cool, don’t say anything, and let me do the talking” she told the couple.

“Of course. We’ll stay out of the way and let you do your job,” Adrien said.

When they entered the room, Adrien realized that Cecilia wasn’t joking. Reporters from several different TV stations and newspapers were present, intending to report on the case. Then they saw Gabriel and Nathalie at the plaintiff’s desk with a man that Adrien didn’t recognize. His first thought was that he felt some bitterness at the fact that his father only got personally involved in his life now that he was actively trying to undermine him. Then he wondered where M. Mullins was. Surely with Gabriel himself involved in this case, the head of legal would be the one representing him.

They took their seats at the defendant’s desk, and a few moments later the bailiff announced the entrance of the judge.

“Good morning,” the judge said. “This is a preliminary hearing for the case of Agreste vs. Dupain-Cheng. Seeing as this case has gained the attention of the press, I would like to remind the spectators that this is a court of law and to not interrupt the proceedings. I have reviewed the documents that each side has provided and would like to address the claim of the trust fund first.” Turning to the plaintiff’s table, she continued. “You alleged fraud on the defendant’s part, yet I don’t see any evidence of it. Can you explain?”

“Yes, your honor,” the man that Adrien didn’t recognize said as he stood up. “We believe that the only reason that the defendant got married was to gain premature access to the trust fund, with assets of approximately €2.5 million. This action was taken in violation of the spirit of the terms of the fund.”

There was some murmuring among the spectators. _Great, now the value of the trust fund is public knowledge,_ Adrien thought. He would have preferred that value remain private.

“Are you suggesting the court make a judgement on the motivation of the defendant’s marriage?” the judge asked.

“Yes, your honor.”

“On what grounds?”

“The intention of the trust fund was to provide a stable backing for a legitimate marriage, not to provide a resource for a gold-digger to bleed dry resources of the Agreste name.”

The judge looked at the man with a blank look on her face before turning to the defendant’s table. “Do you have a response to that?”

“Yes, your honor,” Cecilia said, standing up. “Setting aside for the moment the implied insult to my clients and their intentions, I would like to point out that the terms of the trust fund are quite clear. Adrien gains access to the fund when he gets married. I provided documentation that proves that he is, in fact, married to Mme. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The terms of the trust are met. There is nothing in the terms that say anything about the motivation of the marriage. This alone warrants a summary judgement in our favor, and that doesn’t even consider that we could provide ample evidence that their marriage is legitimate, undertaken with honest and noble intentions.”

“So, I take it you’re moving for a summary judgement?”

“Yes.”

“Granted. Claim one of the lawsuit is hereby dismissed with prejudice.”

Upon hearing those words from the judge, Adrien let out his breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding. _With prejudice,_ he recalled from his business training, meant that they can’t bring that claim up again. It was a complete and total victory on what was the most important claim in the lawsuit, and it came fast. He looked over at Marinette as she, too, let out a breath she had been holding. Their eyes met, and they smiled to each other.

“Now on to claim two …”

* * *

The rest of the hearing went about as expected. Which means, it went pretty well for the superhero couple. The judge acknowledged and formalized their response to the non-compete claim, which meant it was no longer a concern in the ongoing lawsuit as Gabriel’s lawyer had no valid objections to the offer that Adrien made. That only left the slander claim, which was not quite as clear as the other two points and as such another hearing was scheduled for two weeks out to dig into it more deeply. A countersuit was also officially filed, following through on their earlier response that they would do so if Gabriel didn’t stand down.

Marinette could tell, as the hearing went on, that Gabriel was getting more and more uneasy. She was starting to worry that he might get akumatized again and started watching for the telltale sign of a black butterfly. Of course, none ever came. Part of her was disappointed in that fact, because if she had seen a butterfly come in and akumatize him, that would have conclusively ruled him out as being Hawk Moth for no other reason than it would have firmly established that Hawk Moth was somewhere else. Instead, they had to continue to consider the possibility that Adrien’s father was a supervillain.

As they left the courthouse, dodging reporters wanting a comment on the proceedings, Cecilia pulled them aside. “All told, that went well. I wasn’t sure if the judge was going to formalize the response to the non-compete claim that quickly, but I’m glad she did. That makes our case a lot simpler going forward.”

“And getting the summary judgement on the trust fund claim was a major victory in itself,” Adrien said. “In a way, I feel like we’ve already won.”

“Well, the odds are in our favor, but we’re not out of the woods yet,” Cecilia said.

“What do you mean,” Marinette asked.

“I still say their slander claim is weak, and we’re likely to win, but it will take a while. Your countersuit is stronger, but it’s not as strong as I’d like. Just being honest with you – there’s a fair chance it won’t go anywhere either.”

“The purpose of the countersuit was and still is to get them to drop their lawsuit,” Marinette said. “Now that they’ve had two of the three claims shot down, they have even more motivation to do so. We’re willing to drop the countersuit if they drop the remaining claim.”

Cecilia looked at Adrien, who nodded his agreement.

“It’s kind of refreshing,” Cecilia said. “Rarely do I have clients who are so clear in wanting to make the whole thing just end, where it’s the other side that unnecessarily draws it out.” Then, pausing for a moment she continued. “I learned something else this morning before the hearing. It’s not directly pertinent to the case, but you might find it interesting.”

“What’s that?” Adrien asked.

“I learned that M. Mullins, the chief legal advisor for Gabriel Fashions, resigned his position last week. Something about being asked to do something unethical. I didn’t find out any more details, but between you and me, I think it was because of this case.”

“That’s … interesting. I wondered why he wasn’t there,” Adrien said, considering.

Just then, a loud explosion about a block away startled all three of them, with people all around them suddenly running for cover. Marinette looked at her husband, and when they made eye contact, there was an unspoken understanding between them.

* * *

Ladybug and Chat Noir found that they couldn’t even get close to where the akumatized villain was. One of his powers was to point a laser pointer at people to recruit them to his cause. This turned them into modern military soldiers armed with modern weapons. His army was growing by the minute, and every time they tried to move in, they were met with a surprisingly strong response. What his cause was, they had yet to determine.

The explosion that first alerted them to the danger came from a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher that leveled a small building. They were quickly separated from Cecilia in the resulting chaos, which worked out as it allowed them to transform before an akuma alert had even sounded.

Over the years, the police and other first responders had gotten quite good at sending out those alerts quickly, to the point that it was rare that the superheroes found out about an attack before the public alert was already out. In this case, though, it didn’t do much good as the heroes were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of enemies they were facing. It was also combat of a nature they weren’t used to – more like urban warfare than supervillain magic.

Hiding in an alleyway, Ladybug had her yoyo opened up looking at a livestream of the news. She was hoping to be able to gain some information she could use about the enemy they were facing. The footage from the news helicopter was not encouraging. As the army grew in size, they were somewhat indiscriminate in what they destroyed. As the damage increased, surely the body count grew as well – there was no way this much damage could be done without people dying.

This put more pressure on Ladybug in that she absolutely could not fail. They absolutely had to stop this villain so that she could cast the miraculous cure and bring those people back. Had Hawk Moth really gotten so desperate that he really didn’t care what he damaged or who he injured or killed? Was he really that cold?

She looked up to see the helicopter overhead, and then felt her blood run cold when she saw the telltale smoke trail sign of a missile tracking it.

“No!” She shouted, but it was too late. Fortunately, the occupants of the helicopter also saw it coming and bailed out at the last second, just escaping the explosion as the helicopter was hit by the missile. Of course, that meant that there were now three people falling to their deaths from a couple hundred meters up.

Acting without thinking, Ladybug threw out her yoyo to create a net for the people to land in. She completed it just in the nick of time, as Nadja, her cameraman (still clutching the camera), and the pilot landed safely. Nadja was shaken but unhurt when she caught sight of Ladybug, her expression a mix of relief and gratitude.

“Oh, thank you, Ladybug, I thought we were done for!”

“It’s what I do. You folks need to get somewhere safe,” Ladybug said. Then, a thought occurred to her. “Wait! Are you still broadcasting?” she asked the cameraman. He nodded and pointed the camera at her.

“People of Paris,” she said, looking into the camera and grabbing Nadja’s microphone, “this is a dangerous akuma, more so than most. I need everyone, everywhere in the city to seek shelter immediately. The fighting is unpredictable and could affect any part of the city with little or no warning. Aside from the direct danger to life and property, he is also using his powers to recruit for his army, making it stronger by the minute. He can compel you to join him if he can see you, so please stay out of sight. This includes journalists and bloggers who want to document akuma fights – I’m asking you to please stay clear of this one. Stay hidden until the all clear is sounded. Stay safe, and let us handle it. Bug out!”

Ladybug and Chat Noir ran off from the frightened journalist and her team.

* * *

When the akuma alert sounded on their phones, Tom and Sabine looked at each other as they pulled them out. Of course there had to be an akuma while Marinette and Adrien were supposed to be in court – hopefully they would be able to deal with it without getting into trouble with the judge.

Tom looked up at the TV in the bakery, changing the channel to Nadja’s live feed just in time to see the helicopter crew jump out due to the incoming missile. He gasped, but then felt his heart swell in pride for his daughter as he realized that she had saved them at the last second.

Then he gasped again as Ladybug made her announcement. She had never made an announcement like that before, which means she must really be rattled. When the news station replayed her announcement, he looked closely at his daughter on the screen. What he saw absolutely broke his heart – she was terrified. It was far worse than the fear he saw in her eyes during Heartcrusher.

He wanted to reach into the TV and bring his daughter into an embrace. Since he couldn’t do that, he settled for hugging his wife instead.

* * *

Alya was working on researching Gabriel Agreste, hoping to find something that could possibly tie him to being Hawk Moth. She hadn’t found anything conclusive yet, but had found some interesting rumors and gossip about how his company seemed to be falling apart from within. Unconfirmed reports of large numbers of employees walking off their jobs and resigning were starting to circulate.

It seemed that lots of people were taking exception to something that had changed within the last few weeks. It was difficult to pin it down exactly, but it seemed that the change started when he kicked Adrien out. Could that have caused him to descend into madness?

It was around that same time that Hawk Moth’s tactics with his akumas also changed to become more aggressive and violent. It was certainly a correlation with an interesting implication, but it was hardly proof of anything.

Gabriel was extremely good at keeping things he didn’t want known under wraps, so this effort was proving to be difficult. However, Alya was determined. She would figure out his secrets.

Her research was interrupted by an akuma alert. Wasn’t Gabriel supposed to be in court today? Was this proof that he _wasn’t_ Hawk Moth? She pulled up the alert on her phone and did a double take when she read that the akuma was near the courthouse and that Ladybug and Chat Noir were already on the scene. This fight being near the courthouse only served as additional, if circumstantial, evidence against Gabriel Agreste.

Maybe she could ask Marinette and Adrien if they knew where Gabriel was when the attack started. She’d have to be careful how she worded the query to not arouse suspicion, but if the attack came while all of them were still in the courtroom then Gabriel was not Hawk Moth, and the location of the attack was just a coincidence.

Thinking about her friends, she momentarily felt some worry. Hopefully, they weren’t caught up in the middle of it and were safe.

The courthouse was too far for her to get there in any reasonable amount of time, so she decided not to try to get any footage of this one. It would most likely be over by the time she could get to where the action was. She decided to turn her TV on to see if Nadja would have anything interesting to say. Alya viewed Nadja as a rival reporter, but she did have respect for the woman.

What she didn’t expect when she turned on the TV was to see a terrified Ladybug pleading with everyone to seek shelter and stay out of sight. Trixx picked up on this as well, looking at Alya with concerned eyes.

 _I trust you to make the call for yourself on whether to jump in_ , Ladybug had told her. “She needs help,” Alya said to her kwami. Trixx simply nodded. It was one thing to make her way across town as a civilian to film an akuma fight, it was another to transform and make her way there as quickly as possible to directly help out as a hero. “Trixx, let’s pounce.”

* * *

Having determined that directly attacking wasn’t going to work, Ladybug and Chat Noir were trying to sneak their way in to get to the villain, whose name they still didn’t even know. This was proving to be difficult because the enemy army was equipped not just with modern weapons, but also with other tools that a modern military would have. Things like surveillance drones and IR goggles that allowed them to see through walls.

This was how they were spotted yet again before they got close. The mind-controlled soldier who spotted them immediately lifted an RPG launcher, aimed it at them, and fired, despite there being a wall between them.

The couple had no warning. The wall they were standing next to simply exploded. Chat Noir was knocked back, while Ladybug was knocked over by a large chunk of wall landing on her, pinning her to the ground.

“Ladybug!” Chat shouted as he ran over to her. Looking up, he saw the soldier reloading the RPG so he knew he had to act fast. “Cataclysm!” He touched the section of wall that was pinning his wife down. As soon as it disintegrated, he picked her up and vaulted out just as another RPG exploded where they had been a moment before.

He didn’t stop until they were several blocks away. He took comfort in the fact that he could feel her clinging to him. When he finally set her down, he could tell she was in pain, her hand clutching at her side.

“My Lady, are you okay?” he asked with concern in his voice.

“I’m fine. I’m just bruised, nothing broken.” She sat down on the ground, and Chat could tell from her expression that she was thinking through the situation, trying to come up with a plan. Her thoughts were interrupted by Chat’s ring beeping a warning.

“We need help,” she finally said. “We’re badly outnumbered, so I’m going to activate the entire team. You need to recharge Plagg. Meet me at the park in front of the bakery – we’ll then split up to distribute the miraculous as quickly as possible.”

Ladybug didn’t wait any longer before flinging her yoyo out in the direction of their home. Chat Noir longingly watched her go, hoping that she wasn’t understating her injury before finally detransforming to follow her instructions.

* * *

Ladybug detransformed across the park from the bakery in the same alley that she had often used in the past. Then, glancing around to make sure it was clear, she made a run for her home. Fortunately, the influence of the akuma and his army hadn’t reached this far yet, and it appeared that people had heeded her warning to seek shelter, so she was able to make it without incident.

The bakery had been closed, which Marinette interpreted as a good thing – it means her parents must have seen her warning and taken it seriously. She went to the side of the building and used her keys to unlock the service door and enter.

Racing up the stairs, she ran into her parents in the living room of the apartment above the bakery. She had intended to go all the way up to her room to grab the miracle box, but seeing her parents stopped her in her tracks. They both looked up from the TV, still showing live footage from Nadja (though not so close to the action this time), startled at her sudden appearance.

“Marinette! Why are you here?” her mother asked, concern in her eyes.

Only then did the weight of the situation really settle on her, as she had been running on pure adrenaline. “Oh, Maman,” she said as she changed course and ran to her mother, wrapping her arms in an embrace. “This is a big one. I’m not sure if we can win.”

Her father wrapped both of them in his arms. “Ladybug hasn’t failed yet. I know you can do it, sweetie.”

She felt her heart melt a little at the faith her father had in her. Her parents had always had faith in Ladybug, since the very beginning. It was to the point that they had often tried to comfort her that Ladybug and Chat Noir would solve whatever the current issue without realizing that those words only put more pressure on her. She was grateful that faith was still present even now that they knew who she was. The generic _Ladybug will solve this_ became _we know you can handle it._

There was a time in the past where she was afraid that if her parents ever discovered her identity that they wouldn’t understand, that they would try to forbid her from continuing. Knowing that she had their full support gave her a comfort that she didn’t know she needed. They knew she was about to head out to face danger, putting her life on the line, but they weren’t trying to stop her. Instead, they were encouraging her to face it, having faith that she would win and encouraging her so she would.

“Marinette, what can we do to help?” Sabine asked.

“Papa, I could use your help moving my desk. I need the Miracle Box,” Marinette answered before heading up the ladder to her room. Sabine and Tom looked at each other in confusion, and then Marinette realized that she had never explained her duties as the Guardian. The fact that she was a Guardian of the Miraculous was not something that was widely known. She preferred to keep it that way, but she also felt that it wasn’t fair to keep her parents in the dark about this critical part of what it meant to be Ladybug. She looked over at Tikki, who nodded, knowing what Marinette was thinking.

“I am responsible for one of the Miracle Boxes as a Guardian. The box is a set of nineteen miraculous that come together. The ladybug earrings and the ring of the black cat are the two most powerful, but there are seventeen others. The butterfly and peacock brooches are the ones in the hands of Hawk Moth and Mayura. The Guardians lost them before I was born, so I kinda inherited this conflict. I came here to grab other miraculous to activate my team. I need their help for this fight – Chat Noir and I can’t do it alone. We tried, and already had one really close call.”

Marinette climbed into her room, wincing in pain from the bruise in her side. Her father and mother followed her, a look of concern on Tom’s face.

“Marinette, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing serious, just bruising,” Marinette responded. Looking at her parents’ expressions, she continued, “A wall fell on me, bruised my side. I’ve had worse; I’ll be okay. The miraculous cure will heal me.” She was grateful that she wasn’t lying. She really was okay. Yes, it hurt, but she was still fully capable of combat, and the transformation would help mask the pain.

“A wall fell on you?” Tom said, surprised.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Marinette said. “I’m okay. Really.”

“Where is Adrien?” Sabine asked after looking at her daughter with worry in her eyes.

“He needed to recharge. He used his cataclysm, so he had to detransform. We’re going to meet back up as soon as I have the miraculous.”

Tom helped his daughter move the desk so she could get to the Miracle box. Marinette grabbed it and opened it up. One by one, she pulled out the turtle, snake, dragon, horse, and monkey miraculous. She briefly considered pulling the rabbit as well, but Bunnyx still hadn’t been activated and she didn’t have time to train her. Not for the first time, she regretted that she couldn’t trust Chloe, as they could have used Queen Bee as well.

That thought made her pause for a moment – she might not be able to trust Chloe, but the power of subjection that the Bee gave was too useful to dismiss. She picked up that miraculous as well, clipping it into her hair. Pollen appeared at her side.

Tom and Sabine looked at the collection in awe. Marinette could understand what they were thinking and feeling – it was probably similar to what she felt the first time she saw the miracle box, then in Master Fu’s possession.

“You probably already know this, but it’s important that you never tell anyone about this. If word got out what I have here, it would be really bad.”

“We understand, sweetie,” Sabine said, as Tom nodded in agreement.

Satisfied, Marinette called for her transformation. “Tikki, spots on.”

Her parents gasped as the flash of pink light transformed their daughter from Marinette into Ladybug.

Tom’s eyes were wide. “It’s one thing to know it,” he said with some awe in his voice. “It’s another thing entirely to see it.

Ladybug smiled at her father. “It’s a measure of how much I trust and love you both that I let you see that. It’s very personal. Tikki, Pollen, unify!”

Ladybug’s costume took on yellow highlights as the power of the bee miraculous activated, unifying with the ladybug. Her yoyo was on her right hip, top on the left. “I am now Ladybee,” she said.

“We’re so proud of you,” Sabine said. “You’ll do great. Go lead your team to victory.”

Ladybee smiled at her parents, glad that she had opened up to them. She felt much less anxiety now than she had just a few minutes earlier. “Thanks, Mom and Dad. You have no idea how much your support means to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know anything about how French courts work, but I did work in an American one for a while as an IT technician. The courtroom scene was based on that experience. It's always fun when a judge thinks that someone is full of it - they can't say it straight out in order to maintain professionalism, but when you are around them enough you can tell.
> 
> I have completed 16 chapters, which is the main story. 17 will be an epilogue.
> 
> 12 through 16 all take place in the course of a single day and night. 12 through 14 were originally going to be one chapter, but it got a lot bigger than I expected (that was when I expanded the projected chapter count from 15 to 17).
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and comments! Even if you just read but didn't comment, I still appreciate you. We're in the home stretch, now.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Rena Rouge was making her way across town in the direction of the courthouse when she caught a glimpse of Chat Noir headed the opposite direction. “Chat!” she called out, thinking he was too far away to hear, but he turned his head towards her. _Must be his enhanced hearing._ His eyes lit up in recognition as he changed course to come to her.

“I’m glad to see you, Rena,” Chat said. “We’re going to need help with this one.”

“Where’s Ladybug?”

“She’s going to the miracle box. We’re supposed to meet up at the park in front of the bakery.”

“I’m coming with you,” Rena said.

“I thought you would. Try to keep up!” Chat said with a smile as he vaulted himself away.

Rena grinned, launching herself after the cat.

Within a minute, they arrived at the park, just as Ladybee herself dropped down from the direction of the bakery. Rena did a double take at Ladybug’s different appearance, with the yellow highlights in her costume. “Ladybug, you’re … different.”

“Rena! I’m glad you’re here. I’m unified with the bee miraculous. I’m Ladybee.”

Rena nodded in understanding. “What’s the plan?”

“This is a big one. I’m activating the entire team. Here…” Ladybee reached into her yoyo and pulled out a miraculous box, handing it to her. “Take this to Carapace and meet us back here. Chat,” she continued, pulling out two more boxes and handing them to him, “Ryuko and Pegasus. I’ll get Viperion and King Monkey.”

“Right away, Ladybee,” Rena responded. “I’ll be right back.”

* * *

Rena Rouge made her way straight to Nino’s house, hoping that she could catch him alone. As she approached, she could see that he was in his room, watching Nadja’s live newscast, a look of worry on his features. She knocked on his window, and when he saw her, his worry was replaced by relief as he opened the window for her to enter.

“I thought you might suit up for this one. Are you here to recruit me?” he asked.

Rena pulled the small miraculous box out of her pocket and extended her hand towards her boyfriend. “Yes. Ladybug is activating the entire team for this fight.”

As he opened the box, Wayzz appeared in a flash of green light. “Dude!” As Nino and Wayzz did their little handshake, Nino felt a bit of jealousy towards his girlfriend that she was able to spend all of her time with Trixx rather than just when there was a crisis. Maybe he could talk Ladybug into letting him keep Wayzz for longer?

“I understand your excitement to be reunited with your kwami, but time is of the essence,” Rena said.

“Of course,” Nino responded, putting on the bracelet. “Wayzz, shell on!”

* * *

Chat Noir wasn’t sure where to find Kagami. Ever since they broke off their relationship, the fencing was the only place they ever saw each other with any regularity. Fortunately, he didn’t have to look for long – he found her in the back garden of the Tsurugi estate. She was alone, practicing fencing moves with a foil in her hand. Chat landed next to her, to which she responded by lunging at him with her sword, stopping just short of a strike.

Chat blinked, looking between the sword and his fencing partner. “Well, hello to you, too,” he said.

“Sorry. You startled me. What brings you here?” she said as she lowered the sword.

“We’ve got a big one on our hands that Ladybug and I need help with. She’s activating the entire team,” he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out her box.”

“So, Ladybug sent you to fetch me?” she asked as she took the box from him, Longg appearing as she opened it up and put on the choker.

“Why do you seem surprised? We split up to get the miraculous deployed as quickly as possible.”

“That makes sense. I would have thought, however, that Ladybug would have wanted to come to me herself, given the history between you and me.”

Chat stared at her for a moment. The way she’s talking… “What do you mean?”

“Drop the act, Adrien. It doesn’t suit you. I know who you are.”

Chat Noir gasped, his eyes going wide. There was obviously no point in denying it. “What? How … how long have you known?”

“I learned Marinette’s secret about a year ago. I saw her detransform. She doesn’t know I saw it, and I knew it was something I wasn’t supposed to see, so I kept quiet. When you got married, I knew she would only marry Chat Noir, so that’s when I figured you out.”

Chat took a deep breath, trying to process this bombshell that just got dropped on him. Kagami knew both of their identities! “That explains the way you treated me at fencing the other day.”

Kagami nodded. “It is an honor to be Chat Noir’s sparring partner. But like I said, given our history, I would have thought Ladybug would want to recruit me herself rather than send you.”

“Ladybug doesn’t hold anything against you. She never has, even when you and I were dating. It’s not in her nature to hold a grudge – especially against fundamentally good people. It’s one of the things I love about her. We’re all still friends, she trusts you, and she trusts me, which is why she sent me to recruit you.”

“I will strive to live up to that trust. It is an honor to fight by your side once more. Longg, bring the storm!”

Chat watched as her transformation took hold. He was still concerned about the possible fallout from this revelation, but now wasn’t the time to worry about it. “I’ll still have to tell her you know, but that can wait until after the current crisis,” he said.

“I understand. Do what you must,” Ryuko said.

“Head to the park across from the bakery. That’s our meeting place. I still have one more miraculous to deliver.”

“I’ll see you there.” With that, Ryuko launched herself off in the direction of the park.

Chat watched her go for a minute. _Ladybug is not going to be happy._ Now wasn’t the time to worry about that, though. They needed to focus on the problem at hand. Ladybug will probably freak out when she learns, but she won’t be angry at Kagami for learning their secret. If anything, she’ll be angry at herself for letting it slip. If what Kagami said was true, that she’s known Ladybug’s identity for a full year but hasn’t said anything until now, that’s a strong indicator that she can still be trusted.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he launched himself off in the direction of Max Kanté’s house.

* * *

Ladybee approached the _Liberty_ from the side, hoping to find Luka without anyone else seeing her. She latched her yoyo on the railing just above the window to his cabin and launched herself across the Siene. Suspending herself just outside his window, she looked in and saw him alone, softly strumming on his guitar.

When she knocked on the window, he looked up, and immediately came over to open it. “Ladybug? You look different.”

“I’m unified with the bee miraculous. You can call me Ladybee. May I come in?”

“Of course.”

Ladybee slipped through the small portal window, landing on her feet. “We have a big one. Chat Noir and I can’t handle it by ourselves, so I’m activating the entire team. Can I count on you, Viperion?” She said as she pulled his miraculous box out of her yoyo and handed it to him.

“Of course, Marinette. You can always count on me.” He put the bracelet on, with Sass appearing. It was only then that he paused, realizing what it was he had said, the slip of the tongue coming out.

The two of them looked at each other for a moment, each blinking twice. _He called me Marinette!_ She double checked to make sure she was still transformed.

“You know?” Ladybee said. Luka simply nodded. “How did you figure it out?”

“There was no one moment, no smoking gun. I started to suspect right after I was akumatized. Once that seed was in my mind, it simply grew. By the time you faced Miracle Queen, I just knew.”

Ladybee took a deep breath to calm herself against this news. Miracle Queen had been one of the darkest moments in her tenure as Ladybug – it was when she made a critical mistake, lost her mentor, and had the mantle of Guardian placed on her with no warning. “Luka, that was _years_ ago. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You had so much on your plate, and I didn’t want to add to it. I know how important your secret identity is to you. By the time the dust from that fiasco settled, I had already kept the secret for so long that it no longer felt right to share. I’m sorry if I made the wrong call.” Sass looked between Luka and Ladybee, but wisely decided to keep quiet and let the two of them work it out.

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

“I was never going to tell _anyone._ I’m sorry I let it slip just now.” He paused for a moment, taking in the sight of Ladybee in front of him. She could tell he was pained, even if he hid it well. Luka really was watching out for her in his own way. He knew she was overwhelmed and did whatever he could to lighten her load, even if just a little bit.

“I’ll give this back if you don’t trust me anymore,” he said, reaching for the miraculous on his wrist.

“No!” Ladybee shouted, jumping forward to grab his hand. “I still trust you. Yes, I wish you had told me earlier, but I understand why you didn’t. I still need you. I still need your help. If you’re still willing to help me.”

“Of course I’m willing to help, Ladybee. I will always do whatever I can for you. Sass, scales slither.”

Ladybee watched as his transformation took hold. She knew he meant well, so she couldn’t hold it against him. She also knew she hadn’t really done anything wrong herself – if what he said was true that it just clicked for him. Really, she was amazed that hadn’t happened with more of her friends, especially those she interacted with in both her of identities.

“Viperion, just promise me one thing,” she said. He nodded. “No more secrets. Especially in regards to superhero stuff. I’d rather know than be left in the dark.”

“Of course,” he responded.

“And be careful that you don’t let it slip to anyone else.”

“That was a one time thing. You showing up as Ladybee distracted me and I forgot for a moment what I was supposed to call you, so it slipped out. It won’t happen again.”

Ladybee nodded in acknowledgement. “Head to the park across from the bakery. That’s our meeting place. I still have one more miraculous to deliver.”

“I’ll see you there soon,” he said as he launched himself out the window.

Ladybee paused for a moment. She trusted Luka, and knew that he wouldn’t betray her, but she had an uneasy feeling that the number of people who knew her identity was growing. So far it was all people she trusted, but the more who knew, the more opportunity there was for it to accidentally leak to someone they _didn’t_ trust.

 _The best kept secrets are the ones you never share_ , she had once told Bunnyx. She seriously hoped that she hadn’t inadvertently set off the events leading to Chat Blanc by agreeing to marry Chat Noir.

Without knowing what the catalyst was that allowed him to be akumatized, there wasn’t anything she could do. All she knew for sure was that him learning her identity all those years ago set off a chain of events that led to disaster, but she had no idea what that chain was. She had thought that enough time had passed that the specific circumstances no longer applied, but now she wasn’t so sure. They could be headed down the exact same path, and she would have no way of knowing.

All she could do is charge forward and do her best. She would focus on Adrien’s emotional well-being and help him avoid any emotional pitfalls that could lead to his akumitization. Perhaps the fact that she had that warning of what could happen was enough to prevent the events of that timeline from happening again.

At least, she hoped that was the case. The alternative was … unthinkable.

With that, she set off to find Kim. She had a team to lead; an akuma to defeat. At the moment, that was the most pressing concern.

* * *

By the time Ladybee and King Monkey arrived at the park, the rest of the team had already assembled. Chat Noir and Pegasus had arrived about a minute earlier, and when Chat saw Ladybee land beside him with a determined expression, he felt his heart flutter. _She’s so beautiful._ This was the side of her that he fell in love with first – the side that took charge and was no nonsense.

“Good, everyone’s here,” she addressed the group. “Before anybody asks, I look different because I’m unified with the Bee miraculous – you may call me Ladybee. Here’s the rundown: the villain has powers that allow him to recruit others to his army. Once recruited, they use modern type military weapons. While they are magical in origin, they are mundane in function. They are as deadly as the real thing, so we have to be careful. Your suits do provide a lot of protection, but you aren’t invulnerable, and I don’t want to test the limits of that protection. They are being rather indiscriminate in their destruction, or at least I haven’t identified any patterns in what they destroy.

“They have set up a perimeter that is difficult to get across. They are watching for us, making it difficult to get close. Chat Noir and I already tried, and it almost resulted in disaster. I still don’t know his actual cause or where to find the akumatized object. We are seriously outnumbered, and frankly, outgunned, so a straight up attack won’t work.”

Ladybee paused for a moment, the members of the team looking at her expectantly. Chat Noir could tell that she was considering options, weighing pros and cons of a course of action. He could tell the moment she reached a decision as her determined expression hardened.

Grabbing her yoyo, she flung it into the air. “Lucky Charm!” Down came a flare launcher with one shot. He also realized what she had been debating in her mind: by summoning her lucky charm now, she would be revealing that her adult powers have activated and she is no longer on a timer. There was no way they could get to the villain and defeat it within five minutes, but she needed the advantage of having it available as they planned and moved in.

He heard a gasp from Rena Rouge, and he guessed that she had figured that out as well. The others might figure it out, or they might not, but there was a strong chance that Hawk Moth would know before the fight was over. This wasn’t the end of the world, as he was bound to find out eventually, but it was a surprise element that they could only use once.

Ladybee looked at the flare in her hands for a few moments. “Okay, here’s the plan …”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Without the angst, the fluff isn't as satisfying.
> 
> I once read somewhere that a story that is 40,000 words is long enough to be considered a novel. We hit that threshold with this chapter. I honestly never thought I would write a novel, but here we are! Thanks to everyone that's stuck it out with me for this long. I hope you enjoy how I wrap it up over the next few chapters.


End file.
